Book One: Little Sun
by rainshadow22142
Summary: Lian watched her village die at the tender age of four. She doesn't remember how she came into Iroh's care, but she remembers those who ripped her family away so cruelly. Now, she's following Prince Zuko on his obsessive hunt around the world to find the Avatar, all with the goal of finding the monsters who took everything from her.
1. The Avatar Returns

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

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I. The Avatar Returns

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 _Water. Earth. Fire. Air._

 _I don't remember much from my childhood, but I have vague recollections of my mother rocking me to sleep with the tales of long ago, when the four nations_ _—Water Tribe, Earth Kingdom, Fire Nation, and Air Nomads_ _—were at peace and the Avatar kept balance between the realms. But all that changed when the Fire Nation attacked._

 _The Avatar, the only being who could master all four elements, was strong enough to stop the advance of the technologically superior Fire Nation. But after Avatar Roku's death, Fire Lord Sozin proceeded with an attack on the Air Nomads in the hopes of killing the next Avatar before they could become a fully realized enemy of the state._

 _Once the Air Nomads were successfully annihilated, the Fire Lord continued his quest to spread the wealth and prosperity that his homeland had been fortunate enough to experience for centuries. A hundred years have passed, and the Fire Nation's war is nearing its conclusion._

 _Despite the lack of evidence that the Avatar has survived these last hundred years, people haven't given up hope. During my travels with the Prince over the course of his exile, I've heard whispers exchanged in the marketplaces of Fire Nation colonies in the Earth Kingdom._

 _I know what everyone says behind our backs: the Fire Nation is ruthless and firebenders have no spirit, no regard for human life. I've heard stories of those who suffered first-hand at the Fire Nation's whim and fancy._

 _But I also know it's not just the Fire Nation that carries out acts of violence on the innocent. I know because I am an orphan of this war._

 _Zuko's mission might be to find the Avatar, but mine is to find the men responsible for murdering not only my parents, but my entire village as well._

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It was the middle of winter and Lian wanted nothing more than to be anywhere _but_ the South Pole. It wasn't so much the cold that bothered her; she was a firebender, after all, and had a knack for keeping warn. No, it was the endless water and strong, whipping winds that did her in.

Lian sighed, dropping her hand into her lap, extinguishing the warm red-orange flame she had been playing with in her palm as she did. Beside her, Lord Iroh sat at a low table, his attention focused not on his pacing nephew but on the card game before him. Lian reached for her cup of tea, the cool porcelain quickly heating in her grasp to bring the tea to a satisfactory temperature.

"You know, you'll go blind if you keep staring at the water," Lian called out lazily to the prince, who stood motionless in the center of the deck.

"I don't care," Zuko replied, "if it means—"

"Returning home with your honor," Lian quoted with Zuko, rolling her eyes as she did. "Spirits, that's all you ever think about," she muttered.

Zuko turned to glare at the teen, his golden eyes blazing. Lian didn't flinch under his harsh gaze, as she had been on the receiving end of his famous scowl more times than she could count.

"You don't have to be here, you know," he snapped. "You could be home, happy and warm and _out of my hair_."

Lian felt anger flare up in her stomach and steam curled from her nose. "Like you were ever happy at the palace," she retorted waspishly.

She could tell what she said had struck a nerve with him and Zuko scowled harder. "What are you even doing up here? Don't you have some origami to fold?" he sneered.

"Don't you have an Avatar to find?" she shot back, her lip curling and her ash-gray eyes narrowing as she sprang to her feet, hands clenched into fists at her sides once she had dropped the delicate porcelain cup, which shattered on the metal deck. Lian didn't pay it any mind, as her entire focus was on the glowering prince.

Zuko began striding forward, his posture menacing. "Are you looking for a fight?!"

"Maybe I am!" she yelled as she took steps to meet him in the middle.

It wasn't entirely untrue. It had been several weeks since they had last seen land and Lian was starting to go stir crazy. By this point, no amount of (unsuccessful) meditation would make up for the lack of steady ground and the dwindling number of new scrolls for her to read.

Just as Lian and Zuko had reached each other, a low thunder reached her ears, accompanied by the ship being rolled on waves that had appeared out of nowhere.

She gasped in surprise as a beam of bright blue-white light appeared as a pillar in the distance. Zuko turned to see what she was staring at and his own eyes widened at the sight.

"Finally," he whispered triumphantly. Turning to Iroh, he said, "Uncle, do you know what this means?"

"I won't get to finish my game?" the older man asked plainly, slowly lifting his gaze to his nephew.

"It _means_ my search is about to come to an end," Zuko said, ignoring Iroh's dry tone. With narrowed eyes, he returned his hard gaze to the strange light.

Simultaneously, Iroh and Lian sighed.

This wasn't the first time Zuko was positive his search for the Avatar was "about to come to an end." Since his banishment, Zuko had traveled the world, dragging Iroh, Lian, and the entire crew on wild pig-goose chase after wild pig-goose chase.

Seeming determined to convince the two others on deck of his words, he said, "That light came from an _incredibly_ powerful source. It has to be him!"

"Or it's just celestial lights," Lian said in a bored tone as she walked back to Iroh.

"We've been down this road before, Prince Zuko," Iroh said in a more placating, patient tone. "I just don't want you to get too excited over nothing." After he placed a card, he said in a soothing voice, "Please, sit. Why don't you enjoy a cup of calming jasmine tea?"

"I don't need any calming tea!" Zuko exploded, clearly proving Iroh was correct in his assessment of the angry prince. "I need to capture the Avatar!"

He ignored Lian's snide, "I told you so," as he raised his sights above her and Iroh and shouted, "Helmsman, head a course for the light!" Zuko pointed determinedly in the direction the bean had been moments ago before returning to staring stoically out over the bow of the ship.

Lian rubbed her eyes tiredly but hesitated when a sharp, cold wind suddenly blew over them, lifting the ends of her dark brown hair and ruffling the fur that lined the cuffs and collar of her outer coat. She frowned; that was certainly new. Not the freezing wind part; that was totally normal. No, it was the piercing sting it left on her exposed skin and the feeling of something ancient and powerful that settled over her.

Shivering, Lian stooped down to grab the warm blanket she had placed on the metal deck to keep from freezing off her semi-royal rear. "Let me know if this actually develops into something," she said sarcastically to Iroh, not caring if her words reached Zuko, before turning and heading to her room.

Once she reached her room, she tossed the blanket at the end of her bed and flopped down on the comfortable mattress. She stared up at the ceiling, her eyes slowly sweeping the origami chains that decorated the otherwise-boring gray metal.

Origami had been something Iroh's wife, Jiao, had shown Lian as her contribution to giving the young girl a nondestructive outlet for her temper outbursts, and she had quickly found origami was a great way to clear her head when she was worked up or stressed.

The delicate paper animals had traveled with Lian around the world, and she found comfort in the familiar decorations. As she stared at the animals, she pondered if Zuko could actually be right this time.

Something certainly felt different about the incident with the glowing pillar of light. They had run into strange happenings before, but this felt...ominous.

With a huff, Lian rolled to her side before pushing herself upright. Glancing around her room, her eyes settled on her meditation candles and after a long moment of contemplation, she stood from her bed and walked to the low table. She settled in front of the five slender black candles, her ankles resting on the tops of the opposite thighs in a well-practicied lotus position.

Meditation was something Iroh had shown her as a child and had been part of her firebending training. As a child and gifted firebender, Lian had been subject to strong emotions, especially negative ones. After one particularly frustrating day around Azula, Lian had stormed through the front doors, ignoring the questioning, concerned looks of Iroh, Jiao, and Lu Ten. Despite the bright anger-blush on her cheeks and the slammed door that had echoed through the halls, Iroh had knocked on her door a few minutes later.

He had patiently explained to her that she need not worry about Princess Azula's words and should instead focus on becoming the best firebender she could possibly become. When she had asked if he thought she could be a better firebender than even Azula, who had shown from a young age to be a bending prodigy, Iroh had looked her square in the eyes and said confidently, "Yes."

From that day, Lian had dedicated herself to her studies and bending lessons. Iroh had insisted on being in charge of her firebending lessons. Lian had noticed that her training was different from the royal training given to Zuko and Azula. Iroh's way was less about the body and more about the mind. While she would obviously need to keep her body in peak condition, Iroh emphasized the importance of keeping her mind just as sharp and conditioned.

One major part of her mental training had been meditation. Iroh had told Lian that meditation could be a good way to keep her emotions from taking over or overwhelming her. Unfortunately, even after years of practice, Lian was still struggling with her emotions.

She was bored, though, and despite how high her emotions ran, Lian knew that for at least the time she meditated, she would find some semblance of peace. She lit the tip of her index finger to light the five candles before placing her hands palm-side up on her knees, the tips of her thumbs meeting the tips of her middle fingers. The dark red tapestry with a swirling design in muted gold hung behind the candles and Lian focused on the center of the pattern as she began to breath.

Lian took deep, calming breaths as she closed her eyes. She concentrated on her breathing, clearing her mind of thoughts of Zuko and the Avatar and the never-ending search.

She wasn't sure how long she sat before the candles, breathing deeply and getting out of her head, but when she finally opened her eyes, she felt (at least for the moment) calmer. She stood and stretched before flopping on her bed again.

Several hours later found Lian sitting on her floor with a deck of cards. She was in the middle of shuffling the deck when there was a knock on her door.

"Come in!" she called. She smiled at Iroh when he stuck his head into her room.

"Hanseok has whipped up quite a feast," he said with a big grin.

Lian smiled at Iroh's pure joy at such a simple pleasure. She set the cards on the small table beside her bed before standing and joining the former general in the hall.

They chatted as they walked to their usual dining room, which was smaller than the mess hall the soldiers and crew used. As soon as they entered, the door leading directly to the kitchen opened and Chef Hanseok and his two assistants, Hwanmin and Wonsoo, came out immediately. Hanseok carried a large tray full of food that made Lian's mouth water, and Hwanmin had the tea tray. Once Hwanmin had placed the tea on the table, he and Wonsoo helped Hanseok place all the plates and steamers on the table.

Iroh took his usual spot at the low square table and Lian sat to his right. She hated having her back to the door, but His Royal Pain _had_ to sit facing the door. Of course, she could always have sat across from Iroh and thus keep an easy eye on the door but considering most of Lian's conversation was with Iroh, it was easier to sit beside him.

"Where is my nephew?" Iroh pondered out loud as Lian poured their tea.

"Hwan took dinner to Prince Zuko in his room a few minutes ago," Hanseok informed.

Iroh hummed in response before saying, "Thank you, Hanseok," with his signature warm smile.

Hanseok, Hwanmin, and Wonsoo bowed before retreating into the kitchen.

"Then I'm taking his seat," Lian shrugged. She stood and walked to Zuko's usual place, taking her tea cup with her.

As they began serving themselves, Lian glanced at Iroh. "Do you really think he's done it?" she asked. "Found the Avatar?"

Iroh was quiet for a moment, thoughtfully chewing on pancit. He swallowed and finally said, "I have faith Zuko will find the Avatar when the time is right."

Lian couldn't help but roll her eyes at Iroh's very _Iroh_ response. "What does that even mean?" she asked rhetorically, knowing she wouldn't get a straight answer now either.

"Everything happens for a reason," he said, "and Zuko will fulfill his destiny when he is ready."

Figuring that was as close as she would get to an answer, Lian just nodded and picked up a few slivers of picked daikon with her chopsticks.

Dinner, for once, was quiet. Lian could tell Iroh was deep in thought, and since she didn't have anything pressing to discuss, she let him eat in silence.

It was dark by the time the dishes had been swept away. Lian reached her room but hesitated. She knew what was in her room: her bed, meditation candles, some scrolls, a few board game, and a deck of cards. But it was so _old_ now. She wanted something new.

Lian entered her room to grab her thick fur-trimmed coat before closing her door firmly and taking purposeful strides to the observation tower. She was immediately grateful for the warmth provided by the furs, as she found it more difficult to keep warm at the pole without the sun shining down. As Lian took a deep, slow breath she could feel the stinging air warm as it entered her lungs and then warmed her blood. In a matter of moments, the bitter cold had dulled to a manageable chill.

She leaned against the railing once she reached the edge of the deck. At night, the South Pole really was beautiful. The moon's silver light made the icebergs sparkle and this far away from civilization, the stars looked a million times brighter. She loved the way her breath looked pale under the moon, and how peaceful the world seemed for those dark hours.

Lian's quiet revere was broken by the sharp squeak of metal hinges and she whirled around to find Zuko stepping onto the watch deck.

He seemed just as surprised to see her as she was to see him. This platform at night had been her one real escape the years she had traveled with the prince, and by his shock to find someone else up here, Lian could only assume he had also used the watchtower as an escape.

For a moment, they just stared at each other. Lian didn't feel like fighting, and he must have felt it too. She simply took a step to the side, indicating he could join her.

The two teenagers stood side-by-side for a while. Neither wanted to be the one to break the surprisingly amicable silence for fear of accidentally saying something to piss the other off.

It was no surprise to anyone on the ship that the two were on less-than friendly terms. Back at the palace, Azula had made a point to alienate Lian from the other children in the palace, so Lu Ten had been one of the young girl's only real friends. Zuko and Lian, being about the same age, had the same tutors and trainers, exposing themselves to each other more than they otherwise might have. It had been competition from the beginning, each wanting to prove they were the smartest, fastest, strongest, most agile.

Now, having been stuck on a ship together for the past two and a half years, there had been a very subtle shift in their relationship (if one could call it that) that wasn't obvious to the two but fairly obvious to the crew and to Iroh.

Perhaps it had been a silent understanding that they would be spending even more time around each other than they had at the palace, and to make this journey as bearable as possible, it would be to the benefit of everyone on board if they at least tried to get along.

The first few months had been rough. They were constantly at each other's throats and practically going out of their way to start fights with the other. More times than could be counted on two hands, a firefight had started between the two, and even a few weapon clashes—Zuko with his twin broadswords and Lian with her knives. To everyone's relief (especially Iroh's), no one had ever been seriously harmed during their spats and fights; just the occasional bruise or shallow cut.

As the months had dragged on, the number of times something started between the two began to decrease. Of course, there were always those times after several weeks without landfall that tensions would rise again (as had happened earlier that day), but for the most part, they had managed to have limited interactions end in fisticuffs.

Now, the altercations were few and far between. In fact, the incident earlier that day had been the first in nearly a month, a new record that had gone unnoticed by the teens but not by Iroh and the crew; after all, it was always them that got caught up in the emotions the times they had been unfortunate enough to somehow get in Zuko's and Lian's way.

As the months had passed, Zuko began to realize he didn't _really_ have a problem with Lian. It had mostly been a reflex reaction to treat Lian similarly to how Azula had, a reaction Zuko refused to acknowledge was because he wanted Azula to finally see him as the cool, knowledgeable older brother he was _supposed_ to be.

He glanced over at her as they stood at the railing. She had always been a little bit of an enigma. Her temperament was certainly Fire Nation, and she had some physical features that were specific to the large island nation, such as the lean form, almond shaped eyes, and the lively, fiery spark in the irises that every firebender possessed.

But that was kind of where the similarities ended.

Lian's thick hair was cut shorter than traditional Fire Nation style, stopping at her shoulder blades instead of falling down her back like a curtain of silky tresses. Her skin was slightly darker than most in the royal palace, which became especially obvious during the summer, when she would tan quicker and easier than Zuko or Azula or other palace children. Lian also wasn't as tall as other girls her age, something that had persisted through childhood and now into her teens.

"What?"

Zuko was shaken from his thoughts by her soft voice, which was almost lost in the whipping winds. He focused on her face and saw she was staring at him with her head slightly tilted to the side, her eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion, but her lip quirked faintly like she thought something was funny.

He cleared his throat and returned to staring out at the water. "Nothing," he muttered.

She just shrugged and turned away from him again. Silence settled over them once more, but it felt different, not quite as relaxed as previously. Zuko wasn't sure if it was just him feeling that way, but he was grateful when Lian finally straightened a few minutes later to leave. She gave him a tiny smile before she left, leaving Zuko confused.

 _Since when do we smile at each other?_

He wasn't sure how much longer he stayed outside, but eventually, Iroh found him. If the older man was surprised to see Zuko standing barefoot on the metal platform, or in nothing more than a thin robe over his clothes, he didn't mention it.

Instead, he said, "I'm going to bed now."

Silence.

Iroh let out an exaggerated yawn as he tried again. "Yep. A man needs his rest."

Still no response.

The former general slouched. "Prince Zuko, you need some sleep," he said, this time bluntly. "Even if you're right and the Avatar _is_ alive, you won't find him."

Zuko scowled at his uncle's tone; he knew deep down that Iroh wasn't _really_ convinced he would ever find the Avatar, but he had always voiced his support. Now, it sounded like Iroh had completely given up! Given up on him...

"Your father, your grandfather, _and_ great-grandfather all tried and failed," Iroh went on.

"Because their honor didn't hinge on the Avatar's capture," Zuko replied stonily. " _Mine_ does. This coward's hundred years in hiding are over."

Iroh sighed and simply said, "Well, good-night, Prince Zuko. I will see you in the morning." He waited a beat to see if Zuko would respond; he didn't. With another sigh, this one smaller, Iroh finally turned and left the prince standing in the cold.

Eventually, Zuko made his way to his room. After dressing in his sleeping clothes, he lay in bed and stared up at the ceiling.

Despite his best efforts, Zuko couldn't find sleep. His stomach was too knotted in anticipation of _finally_ capturing the Avatar, of finally returning home, of finally proving he was worthy of his title and the throne.

In time, Zuko drifted off to sleep, his dreams filled with scenes of an old man in chains and his father greeting him warmly and Azula looking at him in awe and Mai waiting with open arms.

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 **Author's Note: So here's chapter one of my new story! Let me know what you think.**

 **Until next time.**


	2. The Avatar Returns - Part 2

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **For future chapters, if you would like me to state which episode it follows or takes place during, let me know and I can do that!**

 **Also, quick thank you to those who have commented, favorited, and followed thus far!**

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II. The Avatar Returns - Part 2

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As usual, Lian woke early the next morning. After breakfast with Iroh—he informed her Zuko was taking his meal in his room again—the prince appeared and told Iroh he was ready for his lessons.

"You should probably work on your firebending as well," Iroh said to Lian as they followed Zuko out of the dining room.

"I think Zuko needs it more than I do," she snorted. Iroh gave her a pointed look. "What?" she asked. "I'm getting better." When Iroh remained silent, she exclaimed, "I am!"

He sighed. "Lian, it is not your firebending that needs work. How is your meditation going?"

Lian scowled, admittedly a little childishly, and muttered, "As good as before."

"Which means it can be improved as well," Iroh said matter-of-factly. Lian grumbled under her breath as they made their way up to the deck.

Zuko was waiting impatiently, and Lian quickly discarded her outer coat. She shivered violently, her fitted high-waist pants and long-sleeved shirt providing a little warmth, but not nearly enough to be considered comfortable. Lian inhaled deeply and when she exhaled, small flames flickered out of her nostrils, warming her considerably.

"Are you ready?" Iroh asked as he sat on his low stool.

"About time," Zuko muttered.

Lian rolled her eyes. "Yep."

"Good," Iroh said lightly. He nodded to the two soldiers who were on deck with them, and they took a ready stance in front of Lian and Zuko.

Lian felt her mind clear as she went through the practiced motions. Firebending reminded her she was strong, powerful. It reminded her that she alone could avenge her village from the Earth Kingdom soldiers who took everything from her.

"Argh!" With a particularly ferocious punch, Lian sent her opponent flying backward.

She heard Iroh sigh heavily. "Lian..." he said slowly, his tone making it clear he was about to say more.

"I know, I know," she said quickly. "Firebending is about the breath, how it becomes energy in the body and translates into fire in the physical world," she recited.

"I know you know this," he said patiently. "You simply have yet to incorporate it into your practice."

Lian let out an annoyed huff. "I need a break," she muttered, marching off before Iroh could call after her.

She understood what he was saying, she truly did. But she had always noticed her firebending was strongest when it was connected to her emotions, especially her anger. And every time she used her firebending, she couldn't help but think about exacting revenge on the men who had murdered her village.

When she returned to the deck a few minutes later, Iroh wasn't looking any more pleased than when she had left.

"Again," he said heavily, his eyes narrowed in appraisal of Zuko.

The prince began his sequence again, sending two fire blasts to the two soldiers standing before him. They blocked before beginning their own attack. While one punched high, the other punched low, and Zuko timed his jump perfectly to miss both fire blasts. Midair, he twisted and swung his arm in front of him, an arc of bright flames sweeping in front of the soldiers. Once he landed, he took the beginning form again.

Iroh sighed heavily and got to his feet. "No," he said firmly. "Power in firebending comes from the _breath_ , not the _muscles_." He emphasized his statement by inhaling deeply, his hands copying the motion of his breath, and then jutting his left hand forward in a mock blow.

"The breath becomes energy in the body," he continued. "The energy extends past your limbs and becomes fire!" Iroh finished with a fire punch that stopped just shy of Zuko's face. Lian could see Zuko's ponytail move with the air that had been created by the rushing flames.

"Get it right this time," Iroh finished bluntly.

Zuko's eyes narrowed. "Enough," he said, approaching Iroh. "I've been drilling this sequence all day. Teach me the next set. I'm more than ready." He stood taller than Iroh, but the gray-haired man didn't back down from the prince.

"No, you're impatient," Iroh corrected sharply. "You have yet to master your basics," he explained as he sat down again. "Drill it again!"

With an angry yell, Zuko turned away from Iroh. He lifted his left leg straight in front of him and sent a fire blast to one of the soldiers. Caught off guard, he didn't block in time and was sent flying back.

"The sages tell us that the Avatar is the last airbender," Zuko said loudly, turning back to Iroh. "He must be over a hundred years old now!"

Lian snorted. "Yeah, but what hundred-plus-year-old man can move as agilely as an angry sixteen-year-old prince?"

Zuko scowled in her direction. "It doesn't matter!" he snapped. "He's had a century to master the four elements. I'll need more than basic firebending to defeat him! You _will_ teach me the advanced set!"

For a moment, the Dragon of the West and the Banished Fire Nation Prince locked hard gazes, dark amber meeting molten gold.

"Very well," Iroh finally said, his narrowed eyes and heavy tone not changing. In an instant, though, his eyes sparkled once more and his face became smooth of any (frowning) wrinkles as he said, "But first, I must finish my roast duck!"

Reaching to his side, he pulled out his bowl of duck and rice and began eagerly scarfing down the sliced fowl. "Would you like some?" he asked Lian. When she sighed and shook her head, Iroh offered his bowl to Zuko, who looked at the older man incredulously before turning back to the soldiers.

"Again," he snapped. The soldiers quickly scrambled to take the ready form and just in time; Zuko went after them with ferocity that would have been intimidating if Lian hadn't seen him do that a hundred times before.

"Do you see the way he moves?" Iroh asked Lian. She nodded. "It does firebending no justice," he said sadly. "It is an art, a beautiful art, and should not be so rooted in anger and negativity."

Lian didn't know what to say, so she just nodded again. She knew Iroh knew she was at a loss for words, so he didn't say anything more.

When there was a break in the action, Lian jumped back in. She really did do her best to take Iroh's words to heart, just like she did when she started training. But as always, she reverted to thinking somewhat savagely, of imagining what she would do if she ever saw the men who were responsible for killing her family.

Iroh finally called time. Lian could have gone on, and she got the feeling Zuko was feeling the same way, but looking at the soldiers, they were drenched in sweat and Lian didn't think they could take another punch.

"Why don't you two take the rest of the day off," Iroh said kindly as they stumbled their way past the retired general.

"Oh, no, sir, we're fine," one of them tried to argue.

"Nonsense," Iroh waved off. "I won't take 'no' for an answer."

They bowed, relief clear in their eyes, before hurrying below deck, no doubt wanting to leave before Iroh changed his mind.

Zuko stormed away, probably to wash up before lunch. Lian gave Iroh a small smile before following Zuko. She was sweaty and felt gross and a nice hot bath sounded perfect.

Once she was washed and dressed, Lian set to drying her hair. As she was rubbing a towel through her thick tresses, there was a knock on her door. She opened it to find Iroh. "Lunch is ready," he grinned.

As Hanseok and Wonsoo were placing tea and lunch plates on the table in front of Lian and Iroh, Zuko came storming in. He plopped down in his usual spot and Lian could feel the tension go from zero to sixty in a nanosecond.

Lian dipped her dumpling in sauce and nibbled it as Zuko continued to glower at the food in front of him.

After a minute, she rolled her eyes. "You know, if you keep staring like that, you'll overcook the food."

"Why are you always so insufferable?" he grumbled, moodily jabbing the gamja-jorim with his chopsticks.

"Hey, hey!" Lian exclaimed, reaching across the table to save the delicious potatoes. "What'd that tot ever do to you?"

Zuko stared at her as she proceeded to stuff a large chunk of softened potato into her mouth. "Are you serious?" he deadpanned.

"What?" she asked through a mouthful of potato. "You were ruining perfectly good food," she continued once she had swallowed.

"It's all the same once it gets in your stomach," Zuko snapped.

Lian gasped comically. " _Really_? I didn't know that!"

The glare Zuko sent her was so intense, Lian was certain his eyes were about to start shooting flames. She glanced down at the small dish of potatoes in her hand and held it out to him.

"Potato?" she asked innocently.

Grumbling under his breath, the prince snatched back the shallow dish before making himself a plate of noodles, beef, and bok choy.

The rest of lunch passed uneventfully, with small conversation flowing between Iroh and Zuko or Iroh and Lian, though the prince didn't speak all that much.

After lunch, Zuko stormed up to the deck again, demanding that several guards who had the misfortune of exiting the mess hall as the moody prince marched past join him up top.

"Little Sun!" Hu, who at twenty-fve was one of the youngest soldiers on the ship, greeted Lian with a wide grin as she stepped onto the deck.

"Long time, no see!" Riku exclaimed, who _was_ the youngest soldier at age twenty-three.

Lian rolled her eyes as she gave each young man a hug. "You saw me just the other day," she argued with a bright smile.

Though Lian had only known the two young men for the duration of the prince's banishment, it often felt like much longer. At the time, Iroh's ward had been thirteen, almost fourteen, and just starting to come into maturity. She had been at that awkward, uncomfortable stage of her teen years, and yet Hu and Riku had made her feel like she could be herself completely and without reservation.

And while she didn't necessarily need the protection—she was, after all, a member of the royal family, despite how much Ozai and Azula may have been remiss to admit it, which meant she was formally trained in firebending and weaponry—they had taken it upon themselves to be her personal guard whenever they were on land. The men on the ship knew better than to mess with the Dragon of the West's ward, but men on land weren't always so smart.

"What are you doing here?" Hu asked.

Another eye roll from the teen. "Like there are many places I can go on this ship," she quipped.

"True," Hu chuckled. He opened his mouth to say something more but was interrupted when Zuko glared over and yelled, "You, get over here!"

"Don't worry," Lian smirked when Hu pouted, "he knows your name; he's just being whiny, as usual. Better not keep the good prince waiting," she said in a sing-song tone as she jokingly shoved the young soldier in the direction of the temperamental prince.

As Zuko got to work making Hu and Alon, the other firebender on deck and another one of the younger soldiers on the ship, wish they had stayed in the mess hall, Riku joined Lian, who sat on the deck.

"Do you have them?" he asked.

Lian snorted and unfolded her legs from the lotus position to reach into her boots, where she kept two karambits and two kunais stashed. Both were common secondary weapons in the Fire Nation military, but for Lian, given her size and stature, they were the perfect primary weapon. She loved the curved design of the karambit, like a dragon's claw, and the sturdy feel of the kunai.

She began absentmindedly twirling one karambit on her index finger via the loop at the end of the hilt as she watched Zuko's training session, though from the looks of it, it was more of a therapeutic anger session for the prince.

Once Riku finished examining her second karambit, he motioned for the one swinging around Lian's finger. She stilled the blade, catching it in the standard grip: blade down and point out, held parallel to the forearm and perfect for slashing. She removed it from her finger before flipping it around to catch it by the blade to pass it to Riku, handle-side first. She took back the karambit he had been inspecting and began juggling it with her two kunais.

Once he was satisfied with the condition of Lian's knives, Riku handed back the final blade before getting to his feet. "Let me grab the training gear," he said.

He came back a few minutes later with dull-bladed jian swords, which was his primary weapon and Lian's secondary.

"You ready?" he asked when he reached Lian. She sprang to her feet with a confident smirk before taking the ready stance, Riku following her lead.

So engrossed were they with their spar that they failed to realize Zuko, Hu, and Alon had finished their own firebending match to watch them.

It was a beautiful sight to behold. Perfectly shined steel blades flashed silver in the golden-orange sun as the source of the Fire Nation's true power started its descent in the pale blue sky. The sound of clashing metal rang out in the otherwise quiet late afternoon, seemingly louder given the echo provided by the large glaciers that floated tranquilly in the calm water.

The physical differences between the two opponents was astonishing. There was tall, muscular Riku, who at six-foot-three stood a foot taller than petite, lithe Lian. The latter used her speed while the former used his strength, and they appeared to dance on the ship's deck with ease and grace.

Finally, a winner stood victorious.

"Ha-ha!" Lian laughed triumphantly when she managed to knock Riku off his feet and onto his back. She pressed the blunt end of her sword to Riku's wrist before kicking his blade out of reach. His jian skittered across the deck of the ship as Lian moved her sword to hold the end at his throat.

When she noticed he wasn't looking at her but at something over her shoulder, Lian turned and frowned when she saw the flare that glowed red high in the sky. Her arms dropped to her sides as behind her, Riku got to his feet.

Zuko rushed past them, heading straight for the telescope mounted near the bow of the ship.

"The last airbender," he breathed as he gazed through the telescope. "Quite agile for his old age," he commented idly.

He pulled away and glared at the four people on the deck. "Wake my uncle!" he ordered. "Tell him I found the Avatar." With a narrowed gaze, Zuko turned back to the telescope. "As well as his hiding place."

He grunted when Lian shoved him aside; _when had she gotten there?_ She refocused the telescope and peered through, going from the origin of the flare—an old Fire Nation war ship—to the two figures running through the snow—one dressed in blue and white and the second dressed in bright orange and yellow—and finally landing on what appeared to be a tiny village Lian only noticed because of rising smoke from what she assumed were cooking fires.

"Zuko, we're in the _South Pole_ ," she said dryly, raising an eyebrow at the prince.

"Keen observation," he said sarcastically. "What of it?"

"I doubt there are any warriors in that tiny village," she clarified.

"How do you know?" he snapped.

Lian snorted. "Because the last I heard, every of-age man in the South joined the Earth Kingdom forces on the front line, meaning there isn't anyone left to defend their home."

When Zuko didn't have a comeback, she rolled her eyes. "Whatever. Let me know when we arrive."

"Wait, you're coming with me?" Zuko asked, clearly baffled.

"Sure," she shrugged carelessly. "I'm bored. I could use a break from this ship." With that, Lian turned on her heel and strode to the tower.

Zuko scowled after her, shaking his head.

"Ridiculous," he muttered. He was used to her challenging him, more than anyone had ever dared to, but today, he was definitely not in the mood for her dismissive attitude. Maybe it was the culmination of several weeks removed from land and the overall tension that had built on the ship because of it, or simply because he was antsy to get out of the cold and get back home with the Avatar in hand.

"Set a course for that village!" he ordered before turning back to the bow of the ship.

 _Finally._

* * *

 **Author's Note: Let me know what you think! Good, bad, and constructive, it's all welcomed.**

 **Until next time.**


	3. The Avatar Returns - Part 3

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **Quick thank you to all the readers and viewers, and an extra special thank you to those who have followed, favorited, and commented!**

* * *

III. The Avatar Returns - Part 3

* * *

Lian stepped into her room, prepared to get dressed. Like Azula, she had her own armor, but unlike the princess, Lian hadn't gotten hers until Zuko's banishment. Iroh had argued it was pointless for Lian to have armor, but she countered, saying she was an able body if needed, and she couldn't go racing into battle if she wasn't properly protected.

She pulled a loose dark gray elbow-length sleeved shirt over her fitted maroon long-sleeved shirt which looped around her thumbs to keep the sleeves from riding up her arm. Next was the armor, which, like Zuko's, was dark red trimmed with lighter red. The metal plates fitted across her shoulders and covered her upper arms and down to the widest portion of her ribcage.

Lian kicked off her boots to exchanged her fitted dark scarlet pants for black pants with a looser cut. She wrapped the final bit of armor—two thinly padded metal panels on a sturdy length of cloth—around her waist so the two panels, which were curved to fit her thighs, rested correctly on her leg. Once it was tied tightly around her waist, she secured the padded metal to her leg via the small leather cords that got knotted around her legs just above her knees. Finally, she stepped into black leather boots with protective gold metal plating.

She was checking she had her knives when there was a knock on her door. "We have arrived, Lian," Iroh said.

"Thank you," she said with a small smile. She brushed a loose bit of hair out of her face as she grabbed her last knife and headed to the center of the ship.

Zuko scowled when he saw her. "Aren't you going to tie up your hair properly? You look ridiculous."

She snorted. "Like you're one to talk about hair styles." Lian had always thought the way she wore her hair was much less silly-looking than Zuko's. The top half of her hair was pulled away from her face and held in place at the back of her head by a hammered gold hair piece, which wrapped around her thick hair and rested flat against her skull, instead of in a high ponytail like the prince's.

"Aren't you at least going to put on a helmet?" he snapped angrily.

Lian eyed the other soldiers standing with Zuko. "Do I have to?" she asked dryly.

"If you want to stand on solid ground, then yes," Zuko hissed, his face growing red.

"Ugh, nothing is worth wearing those ridiculous helmets," Lian huffed, her lip curling in distaste.

Zuko looked as though he wanted to argue further, but then sighed irritably. "Let's go," he grumbled.

The ramp lowered with a low hiss of steam and Zuko marched forward, six soldiers flanking him. Lian remained at the top of the ramp, tucked into the side of the mechanism, giving her a perfect view.

As they approached the tiny village, a teenage boy with a war-painted face rushed forward with a battle yell, wielding what looked like a stylized club.

Zuko easily kicked the club out of the Water Tribe teen's hand before swinging his leg around to knock the teen in the head, sending him tumbling off the side of the ramp and into a large bank of snow.

As Lian had suggested, the teenaged boy Zuko had so easily dispatched appeared to be the oldest male in the village. The next oldest minor looked to be the teen's age, maybe a year or so younger. The children clung fearfully to their mothers or aunts or grandmothers while the elders looked wary, like they had gone through this before and were just waiting for it to be over.

While Zuko approached the gathered population, the soldiers hung back. It was, after all, his mission. He studied the villagers for a long moment before approaching the teenage girl. "Where are you hiding him?" he demanded in a surprisingly restrained fashion.

However, when he was met with silence, his hand shot forward and yanked the old woman beside the teen and hauled her forward.

"He's about this age, master of all elements," he tried again. Still, nothing. He shoved the old woman back toward the girl, who glared at the prince.

With an angry yell, Zuko swept his arm in front of him, a long trail of hot flames following the path. The villagers shouted in surprise and ducked or backed away from the stream of fire.

"I _know_ you're hiding him!" Zuko said loudly.

Lian heard the boy before she saw him, as his battle cry was far too loud to be considered stealthy. He rushed forward, wielding his club again and aiming it straight for Zuko's head. At the last second, the prince turned and ducked, sending the warrior-wannabe head-over-heels above him. As soon as he landed, Zuko fired another blast at his back. The blue-garbed teen rolled away and whipped something from his back, and as Zuko zigged out of the way, Lian saw it was a boomerang. Zuko didn't seem impressed, but Lian held back her snicker; after all, boomerangs _always_ come back.

From the gathered village, a little boy lifted a whale-tooth spear and shouted in a his little boy way, "Show no fear!" The teen caught it and rushed Zuko again.

In a sharp move, Zuko brought his forearm up and snapped off the spearhead before snatching the shaft and poking the boy in the forehead three times with the butt of the spear, sending him back on his rear. Then, just to show he could, Zuko snapped the remaining spear shaft in half.

Something flashed in the corner of Lian's eyes and she watched as the boomerang came sailing back, knocking Zuko in the back of the head as it did. It knocked the metal helmet askew and Lian bit her lip to prevent her snickers from spilling out.

Zuko obviously wasn't amused. With a low growl, fire daggers appeared from his fists as he glared down at the fallen warrior.

Before he could strike, though, something came flying, or rather gliding, along the snow behind him, sailing between his open stance and knocking Zuko in the air. This time, Lian couldn't help but guffaw as Zuko ended up with his rear in the air, his helmet resting on his tailbone.

Her bemusement was drowned out by the cheering children as a bald-headed young teenage boy came to a stop before them. He was dressed in monk's clothes dyed burnt orange and rusty gold. He was deposited on the snow by his living sled, but he didn't look too disappointed.

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka," he said, facing the two oldest minors in the village.

"Hi, Aang," the boy, Sokka, replied gloomily. "Thanks for comin'."

Zuko finally got to his feet and as he took a ready position, the six soldiers spread out to create a semicircle around Aang. The bald teen glanced at the soldiers briefly before swinging his wooden staff to both sides, knocking the armored men off their feet, before raising the staff above his head and bringing it down in front of him, obscuring Zuko in a cloud of snow.

When the snow finally settled again, Zuko glared at the boy, the snow that had fallen on him melting and steaming as the water evaporated.

"Looking for me?" the boy asked.

" _You're_ the airbender?" Zuko asked in disbelief. " _You're_ the Avatar?" While Lian herself was surprised at the revelation, she was also curious; how had the Avatar stayed a kid for one hundred years?

"I've spent years preparing for this encounter," Zuko continued as he and the Avatar began circling each other, "training, meditating. You're just a child!"

The Avatar straightened a little and quirked an eyebrow. "Well, you're just a teenager," he countered.

Zuko began throwing fire blasts his way, and each one the Avatar dissipated with his staff. As he backed up toward the villagers, they shrieked as the flames danced over their heads. He glanced over his shoulder and after the last of the embers had disappeared, he asked, "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?"

For a moment, no one moved. Lian watched but could already tell what Zuko would do. The prince straightened from his fighting stance and nodded once.

Immediately, two guards approached the Avatar and began pushing him toward the ramp. The girl, Katara, said desperately, "No, Aang, don't do this!"

"Don't worry, Katara," the bald boy said calmly. "It'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

 _Either this kid doesn't know what's going on, or he's very optimistic he can get away from Zuko_ , Lian thought to herself as the soldiers and Zuko turned their back to the village.

"Head a course to the Fire Nation!" Zuko ordered as he marched up the ramp. "I'm going home."

Up close, the Avatar looked even younger than Lian first thought; no older than thirteen. As they gathered in the little chamber in front of the ramp, Lian studied the Avatar. He had large brown-gray eyes and was an inch or so shorter than her. An electric blue arrow tattoo was clearly visible on his bald head.

"So, you're the Avatar," she said conversationally as they started heading for the deck of the ship.

"Uh, I guess," Aang said uneasily, eyeing the armored teenager. She wasn't wearing a helmet, and her gray eyes weren't as hard as the prince's gold ones had been, but there was still a shadowed look in her eyes that made Aang wonder what darkness she had witnessed.

Something about her, though, made Aang feel as though he could trust her. Her lips were quirked in a small smirk, as though she knew something no one else did. Despite the guarded look in her eyes, they still looked lively, as though a spark would flicker through at any moment.

"So...how did you end up on this ship?" he asked curiously.

Lian studied him for a moment before answering. "The closest thing I have to a parent is on this ship, and there was nothing for me in the Fire Nation. So, I figured there was no time like the present to explore the world."

"Is that the only reason?"

"What do you mean?" she asked sharply, looking at him out of the corner of her eyes.

"Nothing," Aang said quickly, his eyes wide. "I was just wondering."

She just hummed in response and the rest of the walk to the deck was done in silence.

Iroh was waiting for them. Lian moved past the guards to stand beside him, and Aang was immediately on edge upon learning she was somehow connected to the prince.

Zuko stood in front of them, the Avatar's wooden staff in his hands. He held it aloft and said, "This staff will make an excellent gift for my father." After a beat, he said, "I suppose you wouldn't know of fathers, being raised by monks."

Lian noticed the Avatar looked a little take aback by the statement, and she couldn't blame him. What did it matter if it was a monk who had raised the airbender? Iroh wasn't Lian's biological father, yet from the beginning, he cared for her as though she was his own and she wanted to make him proud, the way she would her birth father.

"Take the Avatar to the prison hold," Zuko commanded. The two soldiers standing beside Aang took hold of either of his arms and began walking him to the opening in the deck that led to the ship's inner workings.

"And take this to my quarters," he finished, shoving the staff in Iroh's hands before turning and walking toward the tower.

"Hey," Iroh said to the soldier standing next to him. "You mind taking this to his quarters for me?" he asked. Lian rolled her eyes and headed for her room.

Once she had taken off her armor, hung it up in the wardrobe, and was dressed in her usual winter garb, she sat in front of her mediation candles again. She lit the wicks and began to breath.

At one point, Lian thought she heard her door creak open, but when she turned around, nothing appeared to be out of the ordinary.

Just a few moments later, though, she heard noises coming from Zuko's room that sounded suspiciously like a fight. When what sounded like a body slammed into the wall right in front of her, Lian gasped in surprise and scrambled to her feet, not bothering to put out the candles.

When she threw open her door and looked down the hall, she saw the back of the Avatar running for the stairs that led to the bridge, which resided at the top of the tower where the private rooms were situated. Zuko's door was wide open and when she peered in, she found him face down on his mattress, which was in the center of his room.

"Do you always sleep in the middle of your room?" she asked, only half kidding as she cautiously stepped into the room.

"Did you see him?!" Zuko snapped, springing to his feet. When she didn't respond immediately, he grabbed Lian by the shoulders, shaking slightly. "The Avatar! Which way did he go?!"

"The bridge!" she yelped, more startled by his sudden close proximity than the fire that burned in his golden eyes. He roughly shoved her aside and stormed out into the hall, Lian on his heels.

By the time she had her feet in the bridge, Zuko was already racing toward the observation deck. The sound of something snapping open reached her ears and Lian saw a bright orange something-or-other hang in mid-air, closely followed by the Avatar.

Zuko let out an enraged yell as he raced toward the railing of the deck. "Zuko!" Lian exclaimed in shock as the prince launched himself over the railing of the deck. Her eyes widened as he grabbed hold of the Avatar's ankle and she leaned over the railing as they crashed onto the deck, head over heels. "Spirits," she muttered.

Zuko was the first to stir, and even from a distance, Lian could tell the prince was burning holes in the Avatar's head. Both slowly got to their feet, but the prince was quick to get into a fighting stance. Lian could tell the Avatar was much more reluctant.

Before another fight (Lian assumed there had been a fight in the prince's room) could ensure, a low, loud growling reached her ears. Lian whirled around, trying to find the source, and her jaw dropped when she saw where the noise originated.

"No way..." she breathed.

Below her, Zuko looked up in confusion. "What is that?" he asked no one in particular, clearly stunned. Lian knew, though; a flying bison, which she had thought went extinct with the airbenders. But, she figured, if this Avatar had managed to stay alive for one hundred years, maybe the bison had found a way to do so as well.

"Appa!" the bald teen exclaimed happily before grunting in surprise as Zuko sent a fire blast his way.

"Zuko!" Lian yelled from the watch deck before turning and racing down to the main deck. She arrived in time to see the airbender jump onto the side of the ship in an attempt to get away from Zuko's relentless fireballs.

With one last angry fire kick, Lian watched in shock as Aang raised his arms to block his face but was sent tumbling over the side of the ship as a result.

From the flying bison, Lian heard a female voice screaming, "Aang! Aang!" but her focus was on Zuko.

"He's not...did you...do you think..."

"Spit it out!" Zuko snapped irritably.

"It can't be that easy, right?" Lian finally managed to string together. "Killing the Avatar. It _shouldn't_ be that easy."

"What did you expect?" Zuko sneered. "I mean, you saw him; he's just a kid! What kind of damage could he do?"

Lian was about to answer when she heard the water start to ripple. A moment later, a swirling pillar of water shot up in front of the ship, and she gasped when she saw the Avatar at the top, his eyes and tattoos glowing blue-white.

Riding the funnel of water, the young teen landed on the deck before waterbending a circle of water around him, which expanded until it knocked Lian, Zuko, and the five soldiers that had joined them on deck against the railing.

Lian gasped in surprise as the ice-cold water shoved her roughly into the railing and nearly into the unforgiving water below. As it was, Lian's feet left the deck and flipped over the side. In a flash, she hooked her arm over the rail as her legs slammed painfully into the side of the ship.

The glow faded as he swayed on his feet and eventually slumped onto the deck as the large flying buffalo, Appa, landed.

"Aang!" the Water Tribe girl, Katara, exclaimed as she raced toward the bald Avatar. "Are you okay?"

"Hey, Katara," he said weakly. "Hey, Sokka. Thanks for coming."

"Well, I couldn't let you have all the glory," Sokka said jokingly.

Lian finally managed to throw her leg over the railing to flop rather ungracefully onto the deck. She groaned softly as she lay flat on her back, staring at the clear blue sky. Her body was simultaneously sore from being slammed into the ship's siding and numb from the polar water that had doused her before her near-dunk into the ocean below, and all she wanted to do at the moment was sleep it off.

"Ha!" she heard Sokka exclaim triumphantly. "That's for the Water Tribe!"

 _He must have run into Zuko_ , Lian thought idly.

"My Lady, are you okay?" one of the soldiers asked worriedly.

"Just moon-peachy," she sighed, leaning against the thin metal barrier that had prevented an unwanted dip in the icy waters. Once the guard was sure she was okay, he grabbed his spear and joined two other soldiers who stood against Katara.

She raised an eyebrow when she saw Katara lift the water from the deck, and the guards grew wary too. But when the young waterbender accidentally froze Sokka's feet, it confirmed what Lian suspected; with no teacher in the South due to the Fire Nation's round-up years earlier, Katara was woefully inexperienced and unequipped to fight off much more experienced soldiers.

Sensing the weakness, the soldiers advanced, only to be outsmarted by Katara when she turned her back to them and copied her previous motion, which resulted in the freezing of all three soldiers.

 _Not bad_ , Lian admitted with a tiny uplift of her lips.

"Hurry up, Sokka!" Katara exclaimed as she clambered up the giant flying beast and into the saddle. As Sokka hacked away at the ice encasing his feet with what looked to be his boomerang, he muttered, "I'm just a guy with a boomerang! I didn't ask for all this flying and magic!"

Lian watched as he finally managed to hack his way out of the ice encasing his feet before scrambling onto the large furry creature, yelling, "Yip-yip! Yip-yip!" as he did.

Angry grunts caught Lian's ears, and she turned to see Iroh helping Zuko on deck.

"Shoot them down!" the prince yelled as Lian finally got to her feet.

Iroh joined Zuko at the center of the deck. Together, they sent an enormous fire blast toward the bison, only for it to be redirected a moment later and into the side of a glacier. A glacier their ship just happened to be beside.

With the sound of rolling thunder, chunks of ice began to rain down on them.

Lian stumbled to her knees as the ship groaned to a halt as the front half of the ship got buried under the ice and snow.

Once the ship came to a grinding halt, Iroh said, "Good news for the Fire Lord," as he got to his feet. "The Fire Nation's greatest threat is just a little kid."

Lian figured he was trying to be optimistic, but she wasn't so sure.

Apparently, Zuko shared her thoughts as he said slowly, "That _kid_ , Uncle, just did this. I won't underestimate him again." Turning to the crew on deck, he ordered, "Dig this ship out and follow them!"

Lian raised an eyebrow as she watched three soldiers set to work on defrosting their fellow guards. To their credit, they only paused briefly before returning to work.

Zuko appeared to realize what was the more pressing issue as he amended, "As soon as you're done with that," before wheeling around to Lian.

"Why didn't you stop them?!" he demanded angrily.

"Hey, I was a little too busy trying to regain the feeling in my legs thanks to a certain Avatar almost sending me overboard, which wouldn't have happened if a certain prince hadn't sent him in the water in the first place!" she snapped, glaring just as heatedly at hi. "Oh, and I'm fine, by the way! Thanks for asking!"

"Well, he might as well have knocked you over with all the good you did!" Zuko replied hotly, straightening to his full height as he lorded over Lian.

She snorted at his attempt to intimidate her and she stepped closer in defiance. "I might be on this ship, but don't think for a second you dictate what I do!" she shouted in his face. "I may not be royal by blood, but as Iroh's ward, I'm just as much a member of this messed up family as you, which means you can't expect me to do anything you tell me to!"

"Why don't Lian and I start on the ship," Iroh suggested quickly before Zuko could reply. With one final glare, Lian turned her back to Zuko and joined Iroh, who was already standing by the large snowbank.

For a while, they worked in silence. They were eventually joined by every able-bodied firebender, and the non-benders that weren't below trying to salvage what they could set to work on shoveling snow overboard.

With every available body working to clear the deck of the ice, they were done by sunset. Lian shivered violently, feeling completely drained and she doubted she could warm herself if she tried.

She tried skipping dinner and head straight for her room, but Iroh insisted a nice hot meal would warm her quicker than just climbing under some blankets.

Hanseok, Wonsoo, and Hwanmin did their best to whip up dinner for everyone. The kitchen and cook storage room had been mostly destroyed by the avalanche, as well as much of the cooking supplies.

Among the rooms damaged was the mess hall, meaning everyone was on deck for dinner. Zuko had been reluctant to join, but Iroh argued it wouldn't endear the crew to him anymore if they saw him still eating in his temperature-controlled dining room.

Lian didn't mind; she sat with Hu and Riku, huddled around one of the many small fires that had been built on the deck to help keep everyone from freezing their rears off.

Several times, she glanced over at Zuko to find him sitting by himself and barely masking the faces he made while eating the rice porridge that was dinner. Hu looked over his shoulder and chuckled.

"You should join him," he said. "He looks a little lost."

She snorted. "Yeah, like he wants to see me after what happened this afternoon."

"I'm sure he won't mind," Riku said, though Lian and Hu knew very well he didn't believe what he said.

"Fine, whatever," Lian grumbled before wraping the blanket more securely around her shoulders and getting to her feet.

Zuko glared at her as she sat across from him. "What are you doing here?" he snapped.

Lian raised an eyebrow. "If you want, I can go back to Hu and Riku and you can go back to looking foolish."

The scowl Zuko sent her was fierce, but he seemed to realize she was right and went back to staring at his bowl. As Lian continued to eat, Zuko glanced up at her with a grimace.

"How are you eating this?" he asked. "It's disgusting."

Lian debated snapping at him but decided to take the diplomatic approach (for once). "Just because it doesn't have the usual spices of palace meals doesn't mean it's disgusting," she argued politely. "It's gingery and warm and delicious. Besides," she added in a quieter tone, "it reminds me of home."

Zuko did a double-take; he knew Lian wasn't from the Capital, wasn't even the daughter of a diplomat or officer or anyone with a title, but he had never learned where she was from. She never talked about her life before Iroh and the palace or how Iroh had found her in the first place.

"And where is home?" Zuko asked, his voice surprisingly gentle.

Lian glanced up at him, as though trying to figure out if he was being genuine, before returning her gaze to her bowl. "Just a tiny island north of the main island," she shrugged.

"Try me," Zuko said. "I _am_ the Prince of the Fire Nation."

"So?" Lian asked, raising an eyebrow, but not in a challenging or antagonistic way.

"It means I probably know every island that makes up the Fire Nation," he said with an uncharacteristic grin.

She rolled her eyes but nodded and answered, "Hongju." When Zuko hesitated, Lian smirked. "Told you it was a tiny island no one's heard of."

"Give me a second!" Zuko exclaimed, half-heartedly sending a little puff of flames her way.

Lian was suddenly reminded of how young Zuko was. It had been a while since she had seen him smile and laugh genuinely, and without the scowl narrowing his eyes and with the lightness of looking happy reflected in his eyes, he looked like a care-free sixteen-year-old instead of an angry middle-aged man who looked like he had the weight of the world on his shoulders.

"Ah-ha!" Zuko said happily, clapping his hands triumphantly and shaking Lian from her thoughts. "Hongju! Known for their unique small red flowers!"

Lian couldn't help but chuckle at how proud Zuko looked with himself. "Yes, you figured out that the tiny island I'm from is most well-known for its flora," she said, only slightly sarcastically.

After lapsing into a companionable silence, Lian was pleasantly surprised when Zuko started up the conversation again, especially considering what had transpired earlier on deck. They discussed mundane topics and she was shocked at just how normal she felt in that moment.

She wasn't the Fire Lord's outsider pseudo-niece. Zuko wasn't the banished crown prince searching for his honor. They weren't currently sitting on the deck of a ship in the middle of the South Pole, freezing their rears off because of an unfortunate run-in with the Avatar.

They were just two normal teenagers having a normal meal and a normal conversation.

* * *

 **Author's Note: This is by far the longest chapter so far. Hope you liked it!**

 **If you have any questions, comments, concerns, or criticism, please, let me know! I'd love to hear what you think and feel and have to say.**

 **Also, do you guys like having official chapter titles? (ie, more than just "Chapter One, Chapter Two, etc) Let me know! Because I currently have no title past this one...**

 **Until next time.**


	4. Insight

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **Quick thanks to everyone who has read, commented, favorited, and followed. You guys make my day!**

* * *

IV. Insight

* * *

"Land ho!"

Lian stood on the deck as the ship pulled into the harbor. She bounced impatiently on the balls of her feet, anxiously awaiting solid land. Beside her were Hu and Riku, who appeared amused at her restlessness while also looking a little eager themselves to finally touch land again.

When they finally docked, Lian was quick to follow Iroh and Zuko down the loading ramp.

As soon as her feet were on solid ground, Lian said, "If you don't need me, I'm gonna go," gesturing behind her vaguely for emphasis.

Iroh nodded. "Make sure to meet by—"

"Sunset, yes, Iroh, I know the drill," Lian said, rolling her eyes fondly at the old man's concern.

To Hu and Riku, the gray-haired man said sternly, "And make sure she doesn't leave your sight!"

"You got it, sir," Hu chuckled with a grin before looping an arm over Lian's shoulders. "You ready, Little Sun?"

Lian nodded, but her attention wasn't on Hu or Riku. Instead, it was on a tall figure a little way away, a tall figure she would recognize anywhere.

Captain Hou Zhao had always made Lian uneasy. His dark amber eyes, while the same color as Iroh's held none of the kind man's warmth. Instead, Zhao always had a cold, calculating gaze with a hint of a sneer, exuding confidence and self-importance. He was always looking down his nose at people, especially women and children, Lian had observed over the years, as though he believed women didn't have the brain capacity to hold an intelligent conversation and children were to be seen and not heard.

As though reading her mind, Riku shuddered and said, "I never liked that man."

"Let's get out of here before he sees us," Hu muttered, already steering Lian in the opposite direction.

Lian could practically feel Zhao's heavy gaze and she repressed a shudder until she was confident they were out of sight.

"Spirits, I hate the way he makes me feel," she mumbled. "I always feel so tiny when he's around, like he's constantly studying me. It's unnerving."

"You said it," Riku nodded. "But enough about him! We're finally on land! Let's have some fun!"

"But not too much fun," Hu warned, raising an eyebrow. "Remember the last time we docked?"

Lian giggled; she certainly remembered. Riku had made the mistake of getting charmed into one too many drinks by a very persuasive, admittedly very attractive, young man. Hu had found his friend giggly and beyond tipsy, and it had only been with Lian's help they had managed to sneak him on board with no one seeing.

Riku groaned at the memory and rubbed his forehead. "Trust me, I'm on my best behavior," he assured. "I don't think I've ever had a worse headache in my life."

The trio spent their day wandering around the port city. It felt good to walk around on a surface that wasn't constantly moving and the change of scenery was refreshing, especially since it wasn't all white and blue and glaciers.

The day was going fine for Lian until she overheard one of Zhao's soldiers snicker to another.

"Did you hear about the Agni Kai that's going down?" he asked with a sneer.

The other soldier snorted. "Never liked the prince. Though it appears to be a fairly popular opinion in the Capital," he smirked.

"Maybe the commander will teach him a thing or two."

The two moved onto the next stall, leaving Lian panicked.

She remembered Zuko's first Agni Kai like it was yesterday. Iroh had forbidden Lian from attending, but she had been curious and rebellious and had snuck in. Iroh had found her after the hall had cleared, pale and shivering and wide-eyed. He hadn't scolded her for sneaking in; instead, he just scooped her up and carried her home.

"Hey!" she yelled after the two soldiers.

They turned and the taller of the two raised an eyebrow. "How can we help a pretty little thing like you?" he asked with a leer.

Lian took a deep breath to keep from snarling at the man and demanding a little respect. Instead, she said sweetly, "What's this I hear about an Agni Kai?"

The men glanced at each other. "I don't know if you want to see that, turtle-duckling," the taller soldier said. "Agni Kai's aren't pretty."

"I think I can handle it," Lian said, her tone light but her gray eyes hard and challenging.

They glanced at each other before shrugging. "Whatever you say," he said. "It'll be at the Agni Kai arena."

"Thank you," Lian said shortly before turning on her heel and rejoining Riku and Hu. "They have an _arena_ dedicated to Agni Kais?" she said, raising an eyebrow. "How many times have people blown their tops?"

"With Zhao, I can believe that," Hu said dryly. "Let's head back, see what's going on."

With no argument, the trio made their way back to the ship, where they met up with Alon on the docks.

"Do you know what's going on?" Riku asked the other soldier once they reached him.

"Just that there's an Agni Kai scheduled for sundown," Alon shrugged. "I have no idea who's participating."

"Zuko and Zhao," Lian said darkly. Alon's eyes widened.

"Who was the challenger?" he asked.

"No idea," Lian sighed. "I'm gonna see if I can find Iroh. I'll see you guys back on the ship."

They waved to the teen as the sun began to dip in the sky. From the ship, it was a short walk to the Agni Kai arena, and by the time Lian got there, about two dozen soldiers were already gathered around.

She wove her way through the bodies until she found Iroh.

"I cam as soon as I could," she muttered once she reached him.

He frowned. "I wish you had gone to the ship," he said honestly.

"I know," she said. "But I wanted to be here for you. And Zuko," she added when Iroh's eyebrow quirked.

He nodded as Zuko reached them.

As the sun burned orange in the sky, the Agni Kai started.

Zuko and Zhao knelt at opposite ends of the large enclosed space, the former before Iroh. Both were stripped of their shirts, leaving them bare-chested save the small ceremonial red vest draped over their shoulders.

"Remember your firebending basics, Prince Zuko," Iroh said. "They are your greatest weapons."

"I refuse to let him win," Zuko responded, standing and shrugging out of the vest. Across the way, Zhao did the same.

"This will be over quickly," Zhao said softly.

"They took their ready position and a gong sounded.

Zuko struck first, sending a fire blast Zhao's way. The commander easily sidestepped the hot flames, then proceeded to maneuver around the consecutive blasts Zuko fired. The final one, Zhao held his position and held his arms in a cross in front of his face to break the flames apart. Zuko continued on the offense, though nothing seemed to faze Zhao.

"Basics, Zuko!" Iroh yelled from the sidelines as Lian nervously wrung her hands. "Break his root!"

Zhao finally threw his first punch, advancing steadily with each blast. Zuko broke the flames each time, until one final stream of flames knocked the prince onto his back and sent him skidding a few feet.

The commander was on him in a flash, rearing back for the final blow. Zuko's eyes widened before his training kicked in and he rolled onto his back before pushing himself onto his hands, swinging his legs in a tight circle around Zhao's fist, effectively extinguishing the flames and knocking the man backward.

Zuko landed soundly on his feet and with a little smirk, began his second offense. With each step he took toward Zhao, a stream of fire burst forward, keeping the commander off balance. One final fire kick sent Zhao flying through the air and crashing to the ground, where he proceeded to roll several times before coming to a stop.

Zuko stood over him, his left fist thrust forward to keep Zhao down and his right fist drawn back, ready to punch.

"Do it!" Zhao snapped, glaring up at Zuko.

With one final angry growl, Zuko let forth a fireball, which sailed harmlessly past Zhao's ear and scorched the earth beside his head.

"That's it?" Zhao demanded. "Your father raised a coward," he sneered.

"Next time you get in my way, I promise, I won't hold back," Zuko said, his narrowed eyes never wavering. He turned on his heel and walked away, toward Iroh and Lian.

Zhao finally got to his feet and his dark amber eyes were bright with fury.

"Zuko!" Lian exclaimed, her eyes widening as she lunged forward on instinct to tackle the prince to the ground. Iroh raced in front of them and dispersed the flames to get to the source: Zhao's foot.

Lian landed on top of Zuko, who grunted as her weight crashed on top of him. A few feet away, Zhao was back on his rear. In a flash, Zuko was on his feet, Lian dragged up with him. She quickly locked her arms around his waist and planted her feet to keep him from charging at Zhao, and Iroh remained between the prince and the commander.

"No, Prince Zuko," Iroh warned. "Do not taint your victory." Turning to the defeated man, he said, "So this is how the great Commander Zhao acts in defeat? Disgraceful. Even in exile, my nephew is more honorable than you.

"Thanks again for the tea," he said, his voice lightening as Lian released Zuko and quickly stepped away from him. "It was delicious." Iroh turned away and Zuko and Lian followed.

As they left the Agni Kai behind, Zuko asked softly, "Did you really mean that, Uncle?"

"Of course," Iroh said, staring straight ahead. "I told you ginseng tea is my favorite."

Lian laughed, louder than she probably would have in another situation, but with the tension that had built up in her, it bubbled out of her with more force than she intended. Iroh's deep-bellied laugh joined hers and even Zuko cracked a smile.

The walk back to the ship was quiet after the laughter had died down. Zuko unconsciously stuck close to Iroh while Lian wandered ahead, her steps light.

It was a beautiful, cloudless night, the half-moon high in the sky and still bright. This close to civilization, the stars weren't as brilliant as at the poles or in the middle of the ocean, but they still twinkled merrily in the midnight blue sky.

Lian hummed to herself as she skipped along the dock and Iroh smiled fondly as he watched her. There were very few times he saw her this light-hearted at the palace, and given the critical eye of his brother, the court, and his niece, Iroh wasn't at all surprised. Looking at her now, he could imagine long silk skirts fluttering around her ankles as she moved, and with her style and grace, she would make a beautiful dancer.

They arrived on deck to see most of the shipmates topside, which was illuminated by makeshift torches dotted in regular intervals around the perimeter of the deck. Zuko opened his mouth to demand why they weren't working but Iroh placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him a look when he glanced over his shoulder.

A small group was at the center of the deck, playing instruments and singing.

The gathered crew and soldiers greeted Lian with warm and friendly smiles as she joined them. She gestured for them to continue their song and even got Lieutenant Jee to dance with her.

Iroh was quick to join in on the festivities, but Zuko hung back. He watched for a few minutes as the crew and soldiers enjoyed the low light and the slightly out-of-tune music.

He sighed and headed for his room. He was tired and didn't feel like talking with anyone, not that anyone would likely want to talk to him.

 _Maybe Lian_? he thought as he trudged to his room. _Ugh, what am I thinking?_ he grumbled, shaking his head. _She has friends on the ship; it's not like she needs me around._

Later that night, Zuko, after several hours of fitful sleep, crept onto the watchtower deck. He was only a little surprised to see Lian already there.

Now that they were in warmer territory, she wasn't dressed in heavy coats and furs. Her garnet-colored shirt was short and fitted through her ribs, with cap sleeves which provided full range of motion for her arms. Her dark red pants were high-waisted with thick elastic bands around her waist and at the pant legs, which ended just under her calves. The pants themselves were loose, and like the shirt, she wouldn't be hindered in a fight by tight material. Her feet were bare and a gold armband in the shape of a dragon winked in the moonlight.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked as he stood beside her.

"Nope," she sighed. "I can't stop thinking about what the Avatar said."

"What?" Zuko demanded. "Did you run into him and not capture him?"

"Relax, Zuko," Lian said, rolling her eyes. "It was back at the South Pole."

"Oh." After an awkward pause, he asked, "What did he say?"

"It was more like what he asked," she said. She sighed heavily and stared at her hands. "About why I'm here."

"You're here because you can't sleep," Zuko reminded.

"No, dummy," Lian laughed, though not unkindly. It was vastly different from the way Azula might have said the same phrase, so Zuko let it slide. "I mean, on this ship, off the coast of the Earth Kingdom, searching for the Avatar."

"Why _are_ you here?" he asked curiously.

Another heavy sigh. "I'm hoping to find the men who slaughtered my village."

"I...didn't know," Zuko said eventually, sounding completely caught off guard.

"I'm not surprised," she said softly. "On the island of Hongju, there are many settlements and villages. I have no idea if any other township was murdered like mine was."

"I'm sorry." He placed a tentative hand on Lian's forearm and was a little surprised when she put her hand over his. Her skin was warm and soft but still a little calloused from her time with weapons, and Zuko tried to remember the last time someone had been so casual about touching the Prince of the Fire Nation in such a familiar way.

"Thanks," she whispered, not looking at him.

"Do you...wanna talk about it?" Zuko asked somewhat awkwardly, finding himself genuinely curious as to what happened.

"Not tonight," she sighed with a tired smile, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye. "Maybe some other time."

They lapsed into silence after that. For a while, they simply stood together. It was nice to have company without the feeling of needing conversation to fill the space between them.

Of course, in typical fashion, by the next day they were back to bickering.

* * *

Iroh slowly opened the door to Zuko's room. Peering in, he could see it was dark save the mediation candles, which flickered and grew with Zuko's breath.

"The only reason you should be interrupting me is if you have news about the Avatar," Zuko said calmly.

"Well, there is news, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as he stepped further into Zuko's room, "but you might not like it. Don't get too upset."

"Uncle, you taught me that keeping a level head is a sign of a great leader," Zuko responded, his voice still low and even. "Now, whatever you have to say, I'm sure I can take it."

"Okay, then," Iroh said slowly before saying in a rush, "We have no idea where he is."

The flames exploded moments before he did. "What?!" Zuko demanded, whirling around on the low, wide stool he was sitting on before jumping to his feet and glaring at Iroh.

In typical Iroh fashion, the older man just opened his fan and waved it in front of his face. "You really should open a window in here," he said simply.

"Give me the map!" Zuko snapped, snatching the rolled-up parchment from Iroh.

"There have been multiple sightings of the Avatar, but he is impossible to track down," Iroh explained.

"How am I going to find him, Uncle?" Zuko asked, a hint of desperateness slipping into his voice. "He is clearly a master of evasive maneuvering."

"The Avatar?" Zuko glared over Iroh's shoulder to see Lian poking her head in his room.

He opened his mouth to snap, but Iroh nodded. Lian stepped into Zuko's room and took the map from him, who opened his mouth to snap (again) but was stopped when Lian shoved her hand in his face to silence him. Zuko stared at her open-mouthed at her action, but she continued to study the map.

"He's all over the place," she muttered, trying to find a pattern in the movement. She pursed her lips as she stared at the map.

"Do you have any ideas?" Iroh asked, ignoring Zuko's glower.

Lian was silent for a moment. "He's heading north," she said finally.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he sneered. "But _why_? And how do we figure out his next move?"

"Look, we don't need to know his next step," Lian said. "We just need to know his end goal."

"Which _is_?" Zuko snapped.

"The North Pole."

"Ah," Iroh nodded, a small smile on his face.

"How do you know that?" Zuko demanded, looking between his uncle and the annoyance called Lian.

"Because he needs to learn waterbending, and it's not like there are any waterbenders in the south to teach him," she said pointedly with a raised eyebrow.

"How do you know his intention is learning waterbending?" Zuko challenged, putting his hands on his hips. "He could just as easily be on his way to learn earth- or firebending."

Lian rolled her eyes. "That's not how it works, dummy," she said. Zuko's face turned vermillion red. "There's a specific order in which the Avatar needs to master the elements, and since this Avatar is an airbender, the next element in the cycle is water."

She spoke as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, and the way Iroh gazed proudly at her made Zuko feel stupid. When had she learned all about the Avatar and everything that went into their training?

She finally looked up at him and smiled innocently. "So, unless you can think of any waterbenders not residing in the North Pole, that's where he's headed." Lian tossed the map in Zuko's direction and he quickly scrambled to catch it.

"See ya!" she chirped, already skipping out of his room.

"Argh!" The room filled with flames and smoke again as fire shot out of Zuko's nose in anger.

"You should get some rest. It is late," Iroh said, waving his fan in front of his face again. Zuko just grunted. "Good night, Prince Zuko."

Iroh turned and left, closing Zuko's door as he did. Once the door had been shut, he tossed off his robe and flopped onto his bed, staring up at the ceiling.

Zuko wasn't sure how long it was, but he heard Lian rustling around in her room next door. He heard the metal hinges of her door squeak open, but he stubbornly stayed put. As nice as a quiet night on deck sounded, he didn't feel like spending it with Lian.

 _Argh! Lian. Why'd she have to take the only good thinking place on this ship?_

With a frustrated huff, Zuko turned onto his side and closed his eyes tightly, hoping sleep would find him soon.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So here's the fourth chapter! To be honest, the only reason it wasn't posted sooner was because I couldn't think of a chapter title :/ Naming chapters was never one of my strong suits xD**

 **I said this in an earlier chapter, but it still holds: if you're interested in knowing which episodes the chapter covers (since most of the time, the chapter title probably won't be an episode title), let me know and I can add that in the Author's Notes at the beginning of the chapters.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! If you have any comments, questions, or inquires, don't be afraid to let me know!**


	5. What Happens on Kyoshi

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **As usual, a huge thank you to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and commented!**

* * *

V. What Happens on Kyoshi...

* * *

Breakfast was quiet as Zuko poured over maps, trying to determine the next likely stopping point for the Avatar and his friends.

Lian studied them from a distance while chewing a piece of tamagoyaki thoughtfully. "Do the Avatar's previous stops have anything in common?" she asked, nibbling absentmindedly on the ends of her chopsticks.

"None that I can find," Zuko huffed irritably, but Iroh considered it progress that he didn't snap some sassy one-liner her way.

The rest of breakfast was mostly silent, every once and a while Iroh or Lian throwing out ideas on where the Avatar might be headed next.

Lian headed for her room once the plates had been cleared. She grabbed a large rolled oil rag before making her way to the deck.

The mid-morning sun cut through the night-chilled air and Lian inhaled deeply once she got on deck. A sea breeze whipped up some of the restrained hair, but mostly was kept down by the thick section of hair weighed with the gold hair piece.

She settled on the deck, rolling out the oil cloth. Inside, each in a little slot, were her blades: three karambits, six kunais, and a jian.

Growing up in the royal household, it only made sense Lian knew her way around a weapon. Given her petite frame, it made sense she used smaller blades on an everyday basis, but the sword was always a nice alternative.

Lian had just finished polishing her first kunai when Zuko marched on deck, wearing a no-sleeve dark red tunic over black pants, which were tucked into his standard black boots.

Riku settled beside her as Zuko began training.

"Want some help?" he asked.

"Nah, I'm good," Lian smiled. "It's a nice way to clear my head."

"I can understand that," Riku grinned. They sat in silence, Lian cleaning her blades and Riku watching Zuko's bending practice.

Once she was done, they started a spar themselves. Given Riku wasn't a firebender, they kept it hand-to-hand. He talked her through a few moves and tricks she could use as a smaller fighter, and she was quick to pick up the steps.

Iroh joined them soon after, overseeing the two fighting matches. By midday, the five fighters were panting and sweaty.

"Good work, everybody," Iroh praised as they trudged past him, each only thinking about a nice warm shower.

Lian entered the dining room still drying her hair. She plopped down at her usual spot and gratefully accept the cup of tea. Zuko walked in a moment later, and Hanseok immediately swept in, Hwanmin right behind him.

"Wonsoo is just finishing the fish," Hanseok informed as he and Hwanmin placed the plates on the low square table. "He should be out in just a minute."

"Thank you, Hanseok." Iroh smiled at the old cook, who bowed before exiting. Lian began nibbling on seaweed pieces and Iroh munched on kimchi.

Wonsoo stepped into the room a moment later, a plate of steaming fish in his hands. As he crouched to place the platter on the table, he said, "Prince Zuko, I thought you might like to know that while talking to the fishmonger, he let slip that the Avatar is on Kyoshi Island."

Zuko jumped to his feet. "The Avatar's on Kyoshi Island?!"

Lian rolled her eyes. "That's what he just said," she said sarcastically before taking a piece of kimchi from the plate in front of her.

Ignoring her (as usual), Zuko turned to Iroh and said, "Uncle, ready the rhinos. He's not getting away from me this time."

As Zuko marched out of the room, Iroh pointed at the fish and asked after him, "Are you going to finish that?"

Lian had just grabbed one of the eyeballs when Zuko whirled around and snatched the plate with the fish.

"I was going to save it for later!" he snapped.

"Hey!" Lian yelled after him, glaring at him angrily. "Get back here!" When she got no response, she grumbled under her breath and got up to chase him down but Iroh waved his hand dismissively.

"Let him go," he suggested. "He'll need to eat something if he's going to go capture the Avatar." With a heavy sigh, though, he got to his feet and said, "Well, I must get the rhinos ready," though not before piling a plate high with food.

Lian chuckled and grabbed a piece of shrimp shumai. She nearly choked in surprise when Zuko roared, "LIAN!"

She leapt to her feet and after shoving another shumai in her mouth, raced out of the dining room and toward his royal pain's angry voice.

"What, what?!" she exclaimed as she skidded to a stop outside his room.

"Get a rhino ready," he snapped, already getting dressed in his armor by attendants.

"I'm going?" Lian couldn't help but let her jaw drop. "Since when do you _want_ me tagging along?"

Zuko scowled. "Just get ready!"

"Fine, fine," she muttered, heading for her room. Once she was dressed in her armor, she met Zuko in the hall and together, they walked toward the komodo rhino stables.

Iroh was standing by a light gray female rhino Lian had dubbed Liling. She snorted upon seeing Lian, who smiled and stroked her horn as she checked the saddle.

"We're approaching Kyoshi Island!"

"Everyone ready?" Zuko asked, standing beside his rhino. Lian and the six soldiers in the stables nodded. "Then let's go."

Zuko led the way to the ramp, Lian behind him. She had foregone a helmet (again), much to Zuko's annoyance (as usual), but she didn't care. She wasn't an official member of the Fire Nation military and as such, didn't have to follow the rules to a 't.'

As they walked down the ramp astride their mounts, Zuko said sharply, "I want the Avatar alive.

The soldiers nodded and said, "Yes, Prince Zuko." When Lian failed to acknowledge him, he shot her a look over his shoulder.

"Yeah, got it," she shrugged.

Figuring that was the best he was going to get, Zuko just grunted before turning to face the front. They set off on the only dirt road in sight, Lian hanging back. Part of her was in awe of Kyoshi Island, given its history and creation. She allowed herself to appreciate the scenery as they marched forward, Zuko at a much more urgent clip than she.

After a few miles through hilly terrain, they finally reached a simple wooden arch, a tall pillar just beyond with a statue on top. As Zuko and the soldiers pushed past it without a glance, Lian looked up and saw a beautifully painted wooden statue of Avatar Kyoshi for whom the island was named.

"Come out, Avatar!" Zuko yelled at the front of their little caravan. "You can't hide from me forever!" When he was met with silence, he snapped to the soldiers, "Find him."

Lian pulled up next to Zuko as the three komodo rhinos bearing the soldiers moved ahead. She sat tense in the saddle, one hand at her hip, where her jian was sheathed.

"What're you so tense about?" Zuko muttered.

"The Kyoshi warriors are said to be the fierce protectors of the island," she replied, her dark eyes dancing around the small village. "I'm just keeping an eye out."

No sooner had she said that than three figures garbed in rich emerald robes dropped from the rooftops, each knocking a soldier off a rhino. Two more sprung out from between huts, while another two, one wearing a different headpiece, rushed for Lian and Zuko.

They dodged Zuko's fire blasts and while the leader took on Zuko, the second turned her attention to Lian.

As she made a flying leap her way, Lian sent one large fireball at her. The warrior had enough time to raise her golden fans to block the blast, but it sent her sailing backward. She landed in the dirt with a loud, "Oomph!"

She saw Zuko disappear from the saddle of his rhino a second before she felt hands on her shoulders. Using Liling's saddle as a springboard, Lian pushed off, flipping herself over her assailant and landing safely on her feet, a karambit already in hand.

The girl's face was painted white with dark red over her narrowed light brown eyes. She struck first, lunging forward with a closed metal fan. Lian quickly hooked the fan with her curve of her blade, twisting it out of the girl's hand. She snatched it out of the air and pointed it at the warrior's green chest before letting fire stream out of her hand. The flames danced along the gold, making the metal appear molten, before being directed at the girl in a concentrated blast. She yelped as she was sent flying backward.

"Nice try, Avatar!" Zuko called somewhere in front of LIan. "But these little girls can't save you."

"I resent that," Lian muttered with a scowl as she stuck her karambit back in her boot and tucked the newly acquired fan into her waistband.

"Hey, over here!" the Avatar called, standing defiantly in front of Avatar Kyoshi's statue.

"Finally," Zuko said triumphantly.

As they began fighting, the rest of the town held its breath. Lian watched from between two houses as the two exchanged blows. At one point, Aang's staff was knocked out of his hands and he quickly airbent two dropped fans into his hands. With a few sweeping steps, he blasted Zuko backward and into a building. Lian winced at the sound of snapping and breaking wood echoed in the quiet afternoon.

Aang reached for his staff but in a flash, Lian threw the fan at the Avatar's hand. He yelped and withdrew his hand, staring at her as she approached.

"Sorry, Avatar," she said as she and Aang began circling each other. "I'd rather keep my head than be accused of treason."

With that, she began her assault. To someone with no experience with firebending, Lian certainly looked ferocious, with her face set in a fierce mask. Had Zuko seen her, he would have snapped and demanded to know why she wasn't fighting at one thousand percent.

As it was, Aang was having quite a time trying to dodge the bright flames that kept coming at his face.

By a stroke of luck (or perhaps by Lian's own intention), Aang managed to airbend a funnel of air at her legs, causing her feet to be knocked out from under her. She landed with a groan on her stomach and stayed down.

After a beat, she pushed herself into a kneeling position. Zuko was just getting to his feet as well, and Lian quickly sprang to her feet, scooping up two fans as she did.

Zuko looked her over, his eyes narrowed suspiciously. "I've seen you fight," he said, "and you don't lose. So how did you lose to the Avatar?"

Lian shrugged, tucking a pair of golden fans into the waistband of her pants. "You've only seen me fight in training," she said. "I guess I was out of my league."

His golden eyes continued to gaze at her disbelievingly, but he tore his attention away from her when Appa growled loudly above them. Zuko yelled, "Back to the ship! Don't lose sight of them!"

He raced toward the komodo rhinos and Lian whistled for Liling. As she jumped into the moving rhino's saddle, Zuko shot her an incredulous look as she rode past him.

"Wha—"

"Hop on!" Lian yelled, even as she reached down and grabbed Zuko's upper arm and hauled him into the saddle behind her.

"What are you doing?!" he exclaimed as they sped off.

"Getting us to the ship," she said as though it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But the other soldiers! My rhino!"

"Not my fault they never developed a relationship with the rhinos," she shrugged.

"Stop!" he demanded. Lian rolled her eyes but tugged straight back on the reins, bringing Liling to a halt.

"Happy?" she drawled, pulling a fan from her waist and flicking it open.

"Yes," he grumbled.

"Really? But you're never happy!"

Zuko growled behind her but didn't respond to her sarcastic quip. A few minutes later, the other soldiers rode up, Zuko's empty rhino trotting behind them.

"Finally!" he exclaimed, jumping out of Lian's saddle and grabbing the reins of his rhino. "Let's go!"

They didn't make it another three feet before Lian yelped in surprise as they became drenched in a sudden downpour.

"If you'd just let me take you to the ship, we wouldn't be in this predicament," Lian deadpanned, raising an eyebrow in Zuko's direction.

"Shut up," he grumbled, and despite the situation, Lian snickered. Zuko growled again and Lian couldn't keep her laughter in. She kicking Liling into action, and Zuko rushed after them, muttering under his breath the whole way.

By the time they reached the ship, Lian was doubled over in laughter and she hugged her stomach. "M-my ab-abs are go-gonna be better th-than ever!" she cackled, finally just slipping from the saddle and kneeling on the ground in an attempt to ease the burning in her stomach.

When she finally got her laughter under control, she looked up to see Zuko looking at her like she was crazy, which only made her break into giggles again.

The soldiers found them like that, but it broke Zuko from his thoughts and he snapped, "Come on!" He grabbed Lian by the wrists and then pulled her to her feet before slinging her over his shoulder.

"Wh-what are you doing?" she gasped through her mirth.

"You're obviously in no condition to walk," Zuko said under his breath as he rushed up the ramp, the soldiers following closely behind with the rhinos, exchanging confused looks as they did.

Iroh's eyes widened in surprise when he saw his nephew carrying a giggling Lian over his shoulder.

"Has Jee been informed?"

"Yes, Prince Zuko," Iroh nodded. "We are setting sail now."

"Good," he said before opening Lian's bedroom door. He placed her on her feet, surprisingly gently, and she finally seemed to get control of her peals of laughter.

She groaned softly as she placed her hands on her stomach. "Spirits, I can't remember the last time my stomach hurt this much."

"What made you laugh so much?" Zuko asked, more curious than venomous.

"Ugh, don't remind me," Lian ground out, sounding as though giggles were about to spill out again. She took a deep breaths, trying to get control of herself, as the steam that started to curl off her clothes dried her water-drenched armor.

She cleared her throat and finally said, "Honestly, I think it was more of an 'in the moment' kind of thing." She sat on the edge of her bed, staring at her hands as she did. "It's been so long since I've felt like I could act my age, you know?"

She didn't look at him as she continued. "From the time Iroh took me in, I always had to act so mature. As the unofficial ward of the royal family, there were certain expectations of me. I had to be poised and quiet and delicate, but also be strong and composed and able to fight for my nation.

"I didn't really have any friends, so I spent all my time studying or working on my bending or learning how to wield a new weapon. But I was lonely. Still am, I suppose.

"I mean, I have Hu and Riku now, but they have their duties on the ship and as soldiers of the Fire Nation, and besides, they _are_ too old to be carefree and young. They're adults with adult responsibilities."

With a start, she realized she had been rambling. Lian snapped her head up and stared open-mouthed at Zuko. "I'm so sorry!" she exclaimed. "I didn't mean to unload all of that on you."

"No, you're fine, it's fine," Zuko said quickly, realizing with a start that he was learning all of this for the first time. "Um...how _did_ Iroh find you?" he asked rather awkwardly after a beat.

Lian's eyebrows furrowed. "Honestly? I don't remember. One minute I'm inside a barrel and the next, I'm waking up on Iroh's ship, heading for the Fire Nation Capital."

Zuko did a double take. "Did you say _barrel_?" he asked.

"Yeah," she nodded, acting as though all children were left in barrels at some point in their early years.

A very long, awkward pause followed, which was broken when Lian and Zuko both developed coughing fits.

"I should go!" Zuko exclaimed just as Lian sad, "I need to change!"

Another pause, and Zuko finally turned to leave, waving a little before scowling and hurrying out of Lian's room.

Once her door was firmly shut, Lian flopped on her bed again. "Well, that was awkward."

* * *

 **Author's Note: This chapter is in celebration of the news Netflix will be making a live-action Avatar show with the original creators at the helm! To say I'm excited is a MAJOR understatement.**

 **Let me know how you feel about this! Excited, nervous, hopeful? And who would you like to see be cast? Let me know!**

 **Me, I'm thinking it'll be MUCH better than the movie, especially since it IS the original creators who are going to have a huge role in the creation. And actors? I'm not entire sure who I want to see in each role, but I'll be excited to see the list once casting is done, especially since it was explicitly stated they want this to be culturally accurate and not whitewashed.**

 **If you have any other questions, comments, inquiries, let me know!**

 **Anyway, until next time!**


	6. Surprises Come in All Shapes and Sizes

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **I forgot to say this in the last chapter, so I'll say it here: a reader wondered what Lian's an Zuko's relationship was, since they weren't really friends but they weren't enemies, at least not any more.**

 **The short answer: it's complicated.**

 **The long explanation: for years at the palace, Zuko treated Lian the way Azula did, which was like she didn't belong at the palace. They had the same tutors, since Lian was closer in age to Zuko than she was to Azula, and that also created tension between them, since they wanted to one-up the other whenever possible.**

 **But with their close quarters on the ship over the two and a half year, they grew to an understanding they would try to stay away from each other as much as possible. But then enter the Avatar, and nothing is the same!**

 **A huge thank you to those who have read, commented, favorited, and followed!**

 **Now, enough of my rambling! On with the story!**

* * *

VI. Surprises Come in All Shapes and Sizes

* * *

Lian was startled from her thoughts at the knock that came at her door.

"Come in," she said, pushing the scroll she'd been staring at off to the side. Zuko poked his head in, looking uncomfortable.

It had been about a week since Kyoshi Island, and Zuko seemed to have been avoiding Lian like she had dragon pox.

"How can I help you?" she asked.

Zuko cleared his throat. "I, uh, just wanted to say, about what happened on Kyoshi, back on the ship..."

Lian chuckled. "What about it?" she asked.

"Um, just that you don't have to worry about other people finding out. If you don't want them to, anyway," he added quickly.

"Zuko, don't worry about it," Lian assured.

He nodded, then eyed the scroll beside her hand and gave her a curious glance. "What's that?" he asked.

"A scroll," she smirked, and Zuko's responding eye roll was anticipated.

"You know what I mean," he said as he entered her room.

Lian sighed and brought the scroll in front of her again. It was a sketch of a man, maybe in his late twenties, with shoulder-length thick black hair, half of which was in a top knot. Even in the picture, his deep-set eyes looked malicious and he smirked like he knew he was superior.

"Who is that?" Zuko asked, slowly sinking to the ground across from Lian.

"This is the monster who took my people," she spat. "And the reason I'm on this ship," she added quietly. Absentmindedly, Lian reached up to touch the plain necklace around her throat.

Zuko had never given it much thought before, as it was much simpler and less flashy than most women's necklaces at the royal court. It was on a dark red ribbon, worn and dingy with time and wear. Threaded on the ribbon was a red stone wrapped with thin gold wire.

"Did that belong to someone in your village?" he asked, though he thought the answer was fairly obvious.

He was surprised when a light blush touched Lian's cheeks and she quickly dropped her hand from the small stone. "No," she said before reaching up to remove the hair piece that held her hair up. The now-loose hair fell over her shoulders and into her face, making her look younger than fifteen.

"This was," she said, holding the gold piece delicately in her fingers. "It belonged to my mother."

It was a hammered gold ring about the length of Zuko's thumb, designed for holding chunks of hair at once, like Zuko's own ponytail. The difference between them, though, was that while Zuko's was meant to hold _all_ of his hair, Lian's was slimmer, meaning it wouldn't be able to hold back all of her hair at once.

"She gave it to me before she hid me in a barrel," Lian explained as she stared at the gold hair piece in her hands.

"She hid you in a barrel?" Zuko parroted in disbelief.

Lian rolled her eyes. "Didn't I tell you this last week?" she questioned.

"Yeah, but you never told me _why_ ," he said. "I just don't understand why she would do something like that."

The humorous light in her eyes dimmed and she shrugged, not meeting his gaze. "Well, the men were searching all the houses, so she figured she'd hide me somewhere they weren't going to look. And it worked; I'm here."

"Do you know who these men are?" Zuko asked, deciding to ask something productive.

"Just that they're Earth Kingdom," she sighed. "I never saw their ship, and they didn't wear any insignia beyond the Earth Kingdom seal."

"Was he the leader?"

"Yeah. He was the one who gave the order."

Zuko was quiet for a moment, trying to figure out if it was appropriate to ask the question that had been playing in the corner of his mind since he learned about her family's murder.

Finally, he asked quietly, "How did they die?"

Lian was silent for a long time. So long, in fact, Zuko wasn't sure if she had heard him or if she had, if she was just ignoring the question. He opened his mouth to tell her to forget it, but she beat him to it.

"The earthbenders turned the ground to quicksand," she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes as the memories came rushing back. "Then they just stood there, watching and taunting and _amused_ as the people who raised me begged and screamed and sobbed. And the silence after..." The first tear slipped down her cheek. "And there was nothing I could do to stop them."

Tears were streaming down Lian's cheeks now, though she quickly buried her face in her hands. Zuko sat awkwardly as Lian's shoulders shook with repressed sobs and her breathing turned ragged.

After hesitating a second, he moved around the low table and sat beside her, their backs to her bed, and put an arm tentatively around her shoulder. Zuko was surprised when she didn't immediately throw her arms around his neck and bury her face in the crook of his neck or something girly like that. Instead, she remained curling into herself, knees pulled up to her chest and arms tucked between her torso and her thighs.

"I-I'm s-sorry," she stuttered after a moment, doing her best to dry her face. "I-I don't know wh-what came o-over me."

"It's okay," Zuko said uncertainly.

Lian snorted as she wiped the last of her tears from her eyes. "You are absolutely ostrich-horse crap at comforting people."

"Hey, I tried!" Zuko exclaimed indignantly, leaning away from Lian.

She laughed and grabbed the fabric of his shirt to pull him back toward her. "I'm kidding!" she assured with a grin. "Zuko, it's fine. If I wanted condolences, I would have talked to Iroh or Hu or Riku."

"So, why _did_ you tell me?" Zuko asked curiously.

Lian shrugged, returning to staring at her hands. "Dunno," she said. "Guess it's been building up for a while now."

Silence settled over them. Neither seemed to notice the fact there had been considerably more silences between them where there wasn't an air of awkwardness because they didn't know what to say to each other or because they were trying to figure out ways to get away from each other.

Zuko returned his gaze to the parchment, his eyes sweeping over the image.

 _There must be something to distinguish him_ , he thought to himself.

"How did you get this?" he asked out loud as the question came to him.

"I had the court portrait artist do it for me," Lian said offhandedly.

"You remembered what he looked like after all these years?" Zuko asked, a little in awe.

"I did it right after I got to the palace," she explained. A little chuckle escaped her as she added, "In fact, he was the first person I spoke to after arriving."

"Really?"

"Yeah." Lian smiled a little at the memory. "For the first few months I was with Iroh, I dodn't say a word to anyone. Jiao, Lu Ten, the court physician."

"Not even Uncle?" Zuko couldn't imagine a better person to save you after a tragedy than Iroh, and the man sure knew how to talk. But he was also genuine in his concern or worry or joy or enthusiasm. It was impossible not to like Iroh, let alone not want to talk to him.

"Not even Iroh," Lian confirmed. "But after I spoke with the artist, I began talking again."

As Zuko turned his attention back to the picture, something caught his eye. He pulled the parchment closer and leaned in to inspect it.

"I think I found something," he said after a brief pause.

"You did?!" Lian gasped. "What? What is it?!"

"You see this medal?" Zuko pointed to the hexagonal badge over the man's left breast. A smaller hexagon was cut into the center, and written around the cut out was the phrase _Greatness Above All_.

"So?" Lian asked with a sigh, flopping against the side of her mattress again.

Zuko rolled his eyes. "You know, for an unofficial member of the royal family, I expected better from you."

"What's that got to do with this?" Lian demanded.

"Look, despite the Earth Kingdom people feeling unified by their country, there's still a lot of ethnic and cultural diversity, which means ethnic and cultural conflict.

"There was one particularly difficult town I remember my father complaining about when I was four or five. They were extremely patriotic, and this medal came back to the palace when the Fire Nation finally conquered them."

"Spirits," Lian whispered, staring wide-eyed at the tiny detail she had been searching for all these years. "You did it!" she exclaimed, turning to face Zuko with a wide smile.

She threw her arms around his neck in the first hug he had received in he didn't even know how long. He was frozen for a beat before tentatively putting his arms around her in return.

"Thank you," she whispered, tightening her arms for a second before releasing her hold on him. Once she returned her eyes to the parchment, she said, "I can't believe I never paid any attention to that before. All these years and the clue was right under my nose."

She stood and walked over to the small desk that was to the right of her door. After rustling around the drawers for a moment, she returned with a map of the nations.

"Okay," she said as she pulled out a brush and ink pot. "Hongju is here." She marked a spot a little off the shore of the north side of the main island. "Do you remember where this town is?"

Zuko studied the Earth Kingdom, training a finger along the coast. After a minute, he sighed irritably. "No," he muttered angrily. "Argh, I can't believe I can't remember!"

Lian could practically feel the air around Zuko heat in response to his agitation. She quickly put a hand on his shoulder and said softly, "Hey, it's okay. You've already helped me so much this evening."

Zuko glanced at her from the corner of his eye, as though trying to determine if she was being genuine. She gave him a small smile and he felt the tension in his shoulders leave, at least a little.

"Besides, we have all the time in the world to search for him," she shrugged, drying the ink before rolling up the map and sketch.

He stood when she did and for a long pause, they stared at each other, Zuko more intently than Lian.

She broke eye contact first before her gaze flickered back to him, raising an eyebrow a little as she did. "Uh, Zuko?"

"I should go," he said in a rush, jumping to his feet before striding purposefully toward her door.

"Uh, okay. Thanks!" she called after him, though her door was already closing as she did.

Shrugging off his sudden departure, Lian got dressed for bed and then crawled between the sheets, feeling lighter than she had in months.

She had her first lead to the men who killed her village, and while there was still plenty of work to be done, the most important obstacle had finally been hurtled. And all with the help of Zuko.

 _Who could have predicted that?_

* * *

A few days later, Lian had a revelation. All these years, she had been depending on simply finding the guy in the Earth Kingdom. But what if he had been captured already, by the Fire Nation?

With the new idea formulated, she began making a list of all the prisons she knew of, with the plan of asking Iroh or Jee later to see if she had missed any.

She was still working on her list when she walked into the dining room for lunch. "What has caught your attention so fully?" Iroh asked.

"I realized: after all these years I made my plans as though this man was still free," Lian explained. "But I never even thought to consider that he had been arrested! So, I'm making a list of Fire Nation Prisons. I was wondering if you could take a look and see if I'm missing any major prisons."

"Of course," Iroh nodded and Lian passed the scroll to the gray-haired man. He scanned the scroll, making a couple notes as he went.

"So do you plan on visiting every single one of these prisons?" Zuko asked dryly.

"I can send a falcon," Lian shrugged. "I am a Lady, after all," she added with a smirk.

Iroh chuckled. "Indeed, my dear," he said lightly.

The rest of the meal passed in relative silence as Lian continued working on her list. Zuko declared he would be on deck working out once he finished his meal, and Lian and Iroh joined him soon after.

After another hour hunched over the scroll, Lian stretched languidly like a cat on the deck under the midday sun. Zuko was training (as usual) and Iroh sat nearby, assessing (as usual). Given their recent stop at Kyoshi Island, Lian wasn't nearly as stir crazy as she could have been, which resulted in her not feeling the need to punch and kick and firebend her way out of boredom. For the time being, she was content to just watch.

The tower door opened and a soldier stepped forward. He bowed when he reached Iroh before saying, "Sir, Boran has received an SOS from a prison rig nearby. Shall we investigate?"

Lian perked up as Iroh nodded. "Inform Lieutenant Jee of the change in our itinerary," he said.

"Yes, Sir."

The old general stood and motioned for the soldiers sparring with Zuko to stop.

"What is it, Uncle?" Zuko snapped, directing an irritated look at Iroh.

"We will be taking a short detour," he informed calmly.

"Detour? For what?"

"A prison rig on our way north has sent out a distress signal," Iroh explained. "It shouldn't take more than a day out of our travels."

"It better not," Zuko grumbled under his breath.

By later afternoon, they reached the prison rig, which turned out to be situated _in_ the Mo Ce Sea, a few hundred miles from the coast of the western Earth Kingdom.

Lian stepped onto the metal deck of the rig, following Zuko, who was angrily marching ahead of her to determine if the call was really worth taking them off course.

The warden, who introduced himself as Kong Xu, bowed and prattled on about the design of the rig and what it did for the Fire Nation's great war and who this prison rig was designed to hold.

"May we see these prisoners?" Lian asked innocently as she toyed with a small piece of coal with her foot. She looked up at Warden Xu through her eyelashes, and the warden gulped at the hard glint in her eyes.

"That is...not possible at the moment," he said slowly.

"Why not?" Zuko demanded, his eyes narrowing as he stepped closer to Xu.

As Xu launched into a lengthy explanation of a prison revolt, Zuko turned away and began walking the length of the main platform, eyes peeled.

Something glinted in the weak rays of the setting sun and Zuko bent down to inspect the glimmer.

His hand closed around a very familiar necklace, the blue cloth strap torn, and the light blue hand-crafted jewel cool in his palm.

Zuko turned to face the warden, his face an emotionless mask. "Why have you failed to mention that the Avatar was here?"

Lian raised an eyebrow at Xu. "That's why your prisoners revolted? The Avatar? Why was he here in the first place?"

Xu began to stumble his way through an explanation. "Well, you see, the girl was arrested for earthbending in a small village on the coast. Per guidelines, she was sent here, and the Avatar must have followed her."

"Did the soldiers who arrested her not realize she, oh, I don't know, was wearing blue, had blue eyes, wore a necklace with the waterbending symbol, wore her hair in a fashion that's not found _anywhere_ in the Earth Kingdom?" Lian questioned incredulously.

"I mean, if this was a hundred years ago, I could see it," she continued with a contemplative shrug. "Back when the nations were more unified, and people were more likely to marry outside their nations." Her cool demeanor dropped as she looked Xu in the eyes and deadpanned, "But we're not living in that world anymore, are we, Warden?"

"No, miss," Xu said quietly, looking at his feet.

"I do believe my proper title is 'Lady,'" she said contemptuously, straightening to her fullest height and somehow managing to look down her nose at the taller man.

Xu gulped. "Sorry, My Lady," he said in a rush. "I meant no offense."

"Make sure it doesn't happen again," Lian sneered.

"Yes, My Lady," he said quickly, bowing low to her.

Zuko stared open-mouthed at Lian. In all the years he had known her (granted, he hadn't known her _well_ most of those years), he had never seen her look or act so cold and superior.

"Before we take our leave," Lian drawled, "has this man ever been a prisoner here?"

She held up the sketch of the Earth Kingdom soldier for Warden Xu to see. He studied it for a moment before nodding. "Yes, he was here, but this was several years ago," he said. "This was just a stop on his way to another prison. I don't know what his final destination was." He gave her the name of the prison he had been transferred to, and Lian thanked him curtly.

Once Iroh declared their work there done, Lian swept away, and Zuko could imagine long royal robes swishing around her legs. When they got to the ship, he was still staring at Lian in shock.

"What?" she asked with a smirk. "I can act like a royal when I want to."

Zuko could only chuckle a little, still a little astonished by the side of Lian he had just seen. Back at the palace, she had always kept to herself and made a point to be as small as possible.

The more he thought about it, though, the more he realized that over the years of his banishment, she had stopped sticking to the shadows. Within a few weeks, she had started to walk around the ship as though she was _meant_ to be there, like she belonged.

"You're staring at me."

With a start, Zuko realized he had indeed been staring at Lian's profile as they sailed away from the prison rig.

"When have I stared at you previously?" he asked indignantly.

Lian scoffed as she returned her gaze to the water, a playful smile on her lips. "The first night on the observation deck," she said. "At the South Pole."

"I wasn't staring!" Zuko yelled, glaring at the smaller teen.

She snorted. "Whatever you say, Prince Zuko." She threw one last smirk his way before sashaying along the deck, heading for the tower.

"Ugh," he grumbled, forcing his eyes away from her retreating form.

Zuko remained at the rail for a while, watching the sun finally dip below the sparkling water. It was nice, he realized, to just be. For at least a little while, his mind had been clear, clearer than even when he meditated. His thoughts had been calm and he wasn't consumed by his hunt for the Avatar, or by his need for his father's approval, or by the want to be with Mai again.

No, for those few hours, he wasn't the disgraced Prince of the Fire Nation trying to regain his honor. He was just Zuko, a guy on a ship with his uncle and a girl that drove him up a wall.

Well, that wasn't entirely true. At least, not anymore. Of course, they still argued occasionally. Well, more than occasionally. But it was different lately. Less...venomous and unpredictable and more because they were just tired and irritable.

Zuko rubbed his eyes tiredly, sighed, and headed for his room. Once the door was closed behind him, he dressed in his night clothes and settled into bed. He closed his eyes and for the first time, didn't dream of glory and honor and his father and Azula and Mai.

Instead, he dreamed of Uncle's tea and calming voice and a teasing smirk and dark gray eyes.

* * *

 **Author's Note: So, there we have the next chapter! We now know more about the deaths of Lian's village, as well as the man she sees as responsible.**

 **If you have any questions, comments, concerns, ponderings (I know that's not a word, haha), feel free to leave them down below!**

 **Until next time.**


	7. On the Hunt for Uncle

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **So for those of you who noticed this story is tagged as "Adventure" and "Family," you might also be wondering what my plans are for Lian and Zuko. I plan for this to be a loooooong, slooooow build, especially considering they've had an adversarial relationship for ten, twelve years before the story starts.**

 **As you will see in a few chapters, I will be introducing a couple new characters that will be a part of Lian's story and journey to find the men who killed her village, which will span over most of season two (that's my pan as of right now, anyway).**

 **I hope for those of you who are searching for a Zuko/OC fic that my character and her story are enough to keep you around until they _finally_ get goether, which, honestly, I'm thinking will happen maybe during the Smoke and Shadow storyline? But don't quote me on that.**

 **Why? Because I want to develop Lian as a character, not just as a love interest for Zuko. During the television series, her search kinda parallels Zuko's and once we get into the graphic novel storyline, they'll kinda be focusing on the same things again.**

 **Besides, I don't want to write the Mai/Zuko relationship out. I actually like her character and while I don't hate her and Zuko together, since canonically she doesn't marry Zuko, I figured why not write my own character for Zuko to marry?**

 **If you decide this isn't the story you were hoping for or thought it would be and have no interest in it anymore, I understand and I'm sad to see you go.**

 **Okay, enough of that! Onto the story.**

* * *

VII. On the Hunt for Uncle

* * *

They pulled into port about two weeks after finding the Water Tribe girl's necklae on the earthbender prison rig. Lian couldn't have been happier; she was starting to long for solid ground and the crew could tell, too. As usual, the past few days had been tense. Lian's temper had been on a shorter fuse than typical, and as usual, she and Zuko had butt heads quite a few times over next to nothing.

She spotted Riku and Hu on deck and she hurried toward them. "I'm taking today for myself," she informed. "I'll see you tonight."

They looked uneasy with the thought of her going alone, but Lian reminded them she was perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Once they were at least a little assured, she headed back to her room to change.

Normally, Lian wouldn't bother changing from her usual every day attire just to wander around a Fire Nation-controlled Earth Kingdom port city. But given the fact she was going out on her own, she figured it was best to draw as little attention to herself as possible, even though she could easily defend herself if the need arose.

Lian dressed more plainly than usual. Instead of the luxurious fabrics and rich colors of her every day clothes, her pants, fitted three-quarter sleeved shirt, and looser outer tunic were made of rougher coth and in dingier shades of red and brown. She pulled on a pair of old boots, into which she stashed her karambits. Beneath her tunic, she placed her kunais in their sheaths and strapped the belt tightly around her waist, easily hidden by the loose outer layer.

Finally, she released her hair from her mother's gold hair loop and tucked it safely into her pocket. She gathered her hair at the nape of her neck in a bun, which she pined in place with a short hair stick, notches carved into the wood to help the stick grip her hair.

Zuko did a double take when she walked past him in the ship's bay. "Why are you dressed like that?" he demanded, sounding as though he had just discovered a major scandal.

"Well, considering I'm going by myself, I think it's best to blend in as much as possible," Lian shrugged, throwing him a glance before returning her gaze in front of her, waiting for the ramp to lower.

"You're going by yourself?!"

"I think I just said that."

"You can't do that!"

She raised an eyebrow. "Why?"

"It's not safe!"

"I can take care of myself," she said dryly.

Silence settled over the loading bay and Zuko realized they had an audience. As his gaze swept over the gathered soldiers, they quickly looked away. At that moment, the ramp lowered with a hiss and they scurried out, not wanting to get caught in another spat.

Lian waited a beat, looking like she was anticipating a response. When he didn't say anything, she glanced around before shrugging and walking down the ramp herself, leaving Zuko wondering why he was suddenly so worried about Lian's safety.

She spent the day going from store to store, buying a few knickknacks and a piece of jewelry or two as the day wore on.

Around midday, Lian's quiet lunch was interrupted when Zuko came marching up to the outdoor tea shop.

"Have you seen Uncle?" he demanded, ignoring the looks from the other patrons.

Lian sighed as she sipped her tea. "No, I haven't," she replied calmly.

"Well, when was the last time you saw him?" Zuko asked shortly.

"Not since breakfast," she said. "Why?"

"Because I want to get going before we lose his trail," Zuko whispered sharply, eyeing the other patrons suspiciously, as though they were Fire Nation soldiers in disguise, waiting for news on the Avatar's whereabouts.

"Well, stop wasting time talking to me," Lian snorted, raising an eyebrow.

"Come on," Zuko grumbled irritably.

"Wha—hey!" Lian quickly dropped some coins onto the table as Zuko grabbed her wrist and hauled her over the waist-high fence that separated the tea shop property from public ground.

The pair spent the next couple hours searching for Iroh. When they failed to locate him in the shops, Zuko plunged head-first into the growth that surrounded the small port town.

"Uncle, it's time to leave!" Zuko yelled as he burst through the bamboo, Lian grudgingly following. "Where are you? Uncle Iroh!"

"Geez, he can hear you," Lian said, rolling her eyes. "The whole village can! Besides," she added, pointing at the royal red robes hanging from a low branch, "I think I have a pretty good guess."

Sure enough, just beyond the robes, Iroh's calm, even voice said, "Over here."

"Uncle?" Zuko said in disbelief as he hurried toward the robes. "We need to move on," he said once he had gotten over his initial shock. "We're closing in on the Avatar's trail, and I don't want to lose him."

Peering around Zuko's armored shoulder, Lian saw Iroh lounging in what looked to be a jacuzzi courtesy of a little fire breath.

"You look tired, Prince Zuko," Iroh said, not sounding in any rush. He spread his arms and asked, "Why don't you join me in these hots springs and soak away your troubles?"

"My troubles cannot be soaked away," Zuko snapped. "It's time to go!"

"Oh, I think we have a few more minutes. What do you think, Lian?" Iroh asked, looking at the teen in question. When Zuko snapped his head around to glare at her, she held up her hands.

"Hey, I'm just here because grumpy dragged me," she told Iroh, pointing at Zuko. "Besides, I don't want to get in the middle of this."

"Well, you should take your teacher's advice and relax a little," Iroh suggested as he leaned against the rock wall of the pool. "The temperature's just right," he tried to persuade. "I heated it myself." He took a deep breath and placed his left fist against the palm of his right hand. When he exhaled, steam blew from his nose and the water hissed as it heated up again.

"Enough," Zuko said tiredly, waving his hand to clear the steam that had risen from the water. "We need to leave now. Get out of the water!" he demanded.

Lian let out a small scream and slapped her hands over her face as Iroh stood and stretched and said, "Very well," revealing himself to be, unsurprisingly, completely naked.

"On second thought," Zuko corrected quickly, raising his own hand to block the unwanted spectacle, "why don't you take another few minutes?" he suggested. "But be back at the ship in half an hour or I'm leaving without you!" he threatened, marching away and grabbing Lian's upper arm as he passed her, as she hadn't removed her hands from her eyes. She heard Iroh sigh happily behind her, and she could only imagine he would wind up asleep.

"Is it safe?" she asked after a few minutes.

"Yes," Zuko muttered. "You can open your eyes."

Lian dropped her hands to her sides and blinked a few times to readjust her eyes to the sudden light. "You're not _really_ going to leave him here, are you?" she asked, only half worried Zuko might follow through with his threat.

"I just might," he grumbled, glaring at the bamboo in front of them.

"He's not wrong, you know," she said. "You could stand to loosen up a bit."

"I am perfectly loose!" Zuko yelled loudly.

"You're right," she snickered. "You're _totally_ cool, calm, and collected."

Once they returned to the village, Lian began walking toward the tea shop again.

"Where are you going?" Zuko called from behind her.

"Back to tea," Lian replied. " _Somebody_ interrupted me the first time."

She heart Zuko grumble from behind her but wasn't expecting him to jog beside her. They sat at an outdoor table, sipping tea and for the most part ignoring each other.

The minutes ticked by and eventually, Zuko's thirty-minute time limit came and went, but the prince didn't budge.

Lian hid her smirk behind her teacup. "Guess you realized how much we need Iroh."

"We do not need him!" Zuko snapped. "I've just decided to give him more time."

"Please," she snorted. "Without him, we would have killed each other years ago."

Even Zuko had to agree to that but he covered his chuckle with a gulp of tea, which resulted in him spitting it over the table as the hot liquid scalded his mouth.

Lian burst out laughing, which earned more stares from the other patrons. She slapped her hand over his mouth to contain her giggles as Zuko waved his hand in front of his open mouth, trying his best to cool his scorched tongue.

He scowled at her once he had his burned tongue taken care of, but she just smirked and raised her teacup to him.

"Relax, Zuko," Lian drawled, leaning back in her seat. "We can afford an afternoon."

"Fine," Zuko ground out, though his irritation was clear in the heated air around him.

She got him to wait until early evening before searching for Iroh if he hadn't shown. When Iroh did indeed fail to meet at the ship, Zuko stormed off to the last place they had seen the old general, Lian and several soldiers following after him.

"Uncle," Zuko huffed irritably as he marched past the low-branched trees surrounding the pools. "Uncle, where are you?"

"Sir," one of the soldiers said, "maybe he thought you left without him."

Lian eyed the scene in front of her and slowly shook her head as Zuko said, "Something's not right here."

"The rocks," she pointed out, nodding at the now-empty rock tub where Iroh had been lounging before.

Zuko glared intently at the pointed rocks that had erupted from the center. "It looks like a landslide, sir," the soldier suggested.

"Sure," Lian scoffed sarcastically. "Except for _one_ little detail."

"Land doesn't slide uphill," Zuko finished. "Those rocks didn't move naturally. My uncle's been captured by earthbenders," he declared.

"Earthbenders," she breathed, feeling her heart state to race.

In all the years they had traveled the world, they had never had an altercation with the people in the towns and ports in which they stopped, giving Lian little chance to look for the men who were responsible for her family's death.

Now, though, they were _searching_ for earthbenders. Could they be the ones? After all these years, had she finally found the men guilty for their murder? Could she exact her revenge on those soldiers while she continued the hunt for _him_ , their leader?

"Get the rhinos!" Zuko ordered. "Lian and I will follow the trail on foot until you return. And hurry!"

The soldiers voiced their acknowledgement before turning and rushing back to the ship. "Come on," Zuko said heavily. "We need to pick up a trail."

The prince and the ward each started in different directions. When they saw the other wasn't following, they paused and stared at each other.

"Do you know where you're going?" Zuko snapped.

Lian rolled her eyes. "Do you?" she shot back. Realizing if they kept on this course, they could end up fighting for hours, she quickly held up her hands and said, "Look, I think they went this way because look at the bamboo stalks."

Zuko begrudgingly walked over to her and then was reluctant to admit she was right. In fact, it was so obvious he felt like punching himself for missing the detail. About three inches from the ground, the stalks were bent at an awkward angle, like something had barged through haphazardly.

He grunted, gave a short nod, and plunged into the bamboo. Lian quickly undid the buckle of her kunai sheaths and left them at the base of the bamboo. When she caught up with Zuko, he gave her a questioning look.

"So that the soldiers who bring the rhinos get the path right the first time," she said with a smirk. Zuko scowled but trudged on.

About an hour later, the soldiers finally caught up with them, each rhino with a small lamp attached to a short pole on the front of the saddle. Liling bore no rider and was attached to the front rhino as they joined Lian and Zuko.

"Hey, Little Sun," Riku grinned from one rhino. He tossed her the kunai sheath belt before dismounting and handing the reins to Zuko. "Clever, leaving that for us to find."

Lian threw a smirk over her shoulder at Zuko as she mounted Liling. Once she was settled in the saddle, she strapped the belt around her waist again, this time outside her tunic.

"There's water and some food in the saddle bags," Riku explained as he got on the rhino behind the other soldier. "It should last about three days, though I doubt you'll need it for that long."

"Thanks," Lian smiled. "Thank Hanseok and the others for me, too."

"Will do," Riku nodded.

"Let's just go," Zuko grumbled before kicking his rhino into motion. Lian gave Riku and the soldier accompanying him a wave over her shoulder before she followed the prince.

They finally broke through the bamboo and trees, coming to a dirt path. Zuko pulled on his rhino's reins and sneered at Lian, "Any idea which way to go now?"

She ignored his snide tone and looked to her left and right. Zuko noticed her hands twitch, as though they had been shocked, before she guided Liling to her right.

"Where are you going?!" Zuko shouted after her, urging his rhino to trot to catch up to her.

"They went this way," Lian said softly, almost like she was in a trance. Zuko eyed her dubiously and noticed her eyes were a little dazed.

"Hey!" he snapped, reaching out to grab Liling's reins, yanking the rhino to a halt. That seemed to jar Lian back to reality. "If we go the wrong way, we might not reach them before they bring reinforcements," he said stiffly, obviously trying to calm his temper.

"I know," Lian said and Zuko was surprised she didn't sound irritated at his statement. "I'm positive they went this way."

"How can you be so sure?" Zuko asked uncertainly, even as he released Liling's reins and let Lian nudge her forward.

She frowned, and her hands clenched unconsciously around the reins. "It's just...a feeling," she muttered.

"A _feeling_?!" Zuko exclaimed incredulously. "What feeling?!"

"Look, I don't know how to explain it!" Lian said shortly, glaring at Zuko.

"Well, try!"

"Argh!" Lian dropped the reins completely to rub her face and Zuko tensed, waiting for the inevitable tumble she would take off the rhino. Instead, she remained upright and grabbed the saddle horn.

She sighed heavily before saying slowly, "I... _sensed_ them, I guess. Iroh, specifically."

"How?" He sounded shocked now, instead of angry or frustrated.

Lian pursed her lips as though trying to figure out how to word her next statement. "Every living thing produces heat," she started, "and I can feel it around me. So, I know they went this way because I know the...aura, I guess you can call it, that's produced by Iroh."

Zuko was silent for a long time. Lian bit her lip nervously. She had never revealed this little ability of hers to anyone, not even Iroh, and she was anxious to hear what he had to say.

"Did Iroh teach you how to do that?" he finally asked. His voice was a little strained, like he didn't really want to know the answer. Why, though, Lian wasn't sure.

"No," she said. "He doesn't even know about it."

"Oh." Zuko relaxed a little. "Have you always been able to feel...heat?" He made a little face and Lian had to agree it sounded strange when he said it like that.

"I think so," she said. "I first noticed it when I was ten, but I never thought much of it. I figured it was something all firebenders could do."

Silence settled over them again. The sky continued to darken as everything turned into night, their small lamps aided by the twinkling stars.

"You should get some rest," Lian said after a while.

"What about you?" Zuko questioned.

"I need to make sure we continue going down the right path," she shrugged, doing her best not to yawn.

Zuko sighed. "Why don't we both stop," he suggested. "I doubt they'll travel too far into the night, so we might as well rest while we can."

Finding no flaws in his logic, Lian nodded and pulled Liling off the road and entered the bamboo forest again, stopping a few yards in.

Once both rhinos and riders were settled among the thinning bamboo and trees, Lian grabbed a water pouch and one of the small bamboo food boxes. Zuko did the same as the rhinos began munching on the growth around them.

The soft din of chewing and insects chirping and buzzing in the flora around them was the only sound in their little bubble. Both were too caught up in their own thoughts to contribute much of a conversation, but the silence that stretched between them wasn't awkward, but it was tense, filled with anticipation.

The only light was cast by the weak flames flickering in the small lanterns that had been taken from the rhinos' saddles and placed between the two riders. It only barely illuminated their faces, but it made them appear younger and more innocent, less rigid and bedraggled, even if they didn't notice it themselves.

When the food and water was put away, Zuko pinched out the flames as Lian rested against the crouching Liling, her eyes already drifting shut.

"We'll move at day break," Zuko declared softly, and Lian mumbled a sleepy agreement, already half asleep.

Zuko sighed. He was slightly jealous Liling was letting Lian rest against her like a giant pillow and doubted his own rhino (who he wasn't even sure had a name) would let him do the same. Instead, he settled for leaning against the semi-stiff bamboo shoots.

They woke as the sun rose, Lian in a better mood than Zuko, who had a large kink in his back and a knot the size of the Fire Nation in his neck.

"You're chipper," he grumbled as they mounted their rhinos and started for the road again.

"Benefits of befriending your rhino," Lian grinned cheekily. She reached into the saddle pouch and pulled out a steamed bun, which quickly warmed in her grasp. She took a hearty bite as Zuko rubbed his neck.

A couple hours passed when Lian said, "Wait, there's something up ahead," bringing Liling to a stop. She and Zuko dismounted before approaching the object that lay in the middle of the road.

Zuko picked up the old flip flop from the ground and gave it a sniff, recoiling immediately with a disgusted grunt.

"Yep, that's Uncle Iroh," he said flatly.

"I could have told you that," Lian said dryly, wrinkling her nose at the old shoe. They got back into the saddles and continued along the path, Lian occasionally pausing to make sure they were still going in the right direction, which eventually became obsolete when ostrich horse tracks appeared in the dirt path.

They carried on until Zuko brought his komodo rhino to an abrupt stop. He turned in the saddle and Lian followed his gaze to see, in the middle of a relatively cloudless blue sky, the Avatar's sky bison.

"The Avatar," Zuko growled. He stared pulling his rhino in the direction of the bison, but then looked back at the ostrich horse tracks.

"There are two of us," Lian pointed out softly. "We could split up."

For a moment, Zuko looked like he was going to take her up on her offer. Instead, he sighed and said, "No, Uncle's too important. Besides, these might be the men who killed your village. You should have the chance to find out."

Lian, a little stunned, just nodded. Zuko kicked his rhino into motion again, following the clear tracks of the ostrich horses.

Sometime later, something became visible in the distance. Squinting, Lian could see they were riderless ostrich horses.

Zuko dismounted several yards from the tall animals, obviously not wanting to spook them and alert their riders someone was approaching. Lian followed his lead and they crept closer to the bird-horses.

"These dangerous hands much be crushed!"

The voice echoed against the high stone walls and carried to Zuko and Lian, who picked up their pace.

When they reached the lip of the rock, Lian paused long enough to get an idea of what they were dealing with.

Below them, Iroh's hands were chained flat across a large boulder, a smaller chunk of rock floating above his hands. Six Earth Kingdom soldiers stood around him, the leader with his hands raised as he held the rock in the air.

As he released his hold on the rock, Zuko leapt forward and kicked the small boulder to the side before it could land on Iroh's hands. In a careful, concentrated stream of fire, Lian sliced through the chains that held Iroh to the boulder.

"Excellent form," Iroh commended as Lian popped up between the gray-haired man and Zuko.

"You taught me well," Zuko said with a small smirk.

"Surrender yourselves," the leader commanded as he and his soldiers surrounded Lian, Iroh, and Zuko, who stood with their backs to each other to face their adversaries. "It's six against three. You're clearly outnumbered," he said with a confident smirk.

"Ah, that's true," Iroh agreed, "but you are clearly outmatched."

The commander stomped his foot, creating a ripple in the rock as three soldiers punched a chunk of rock at the trio of firebenders.

Iroh, using his chains as whips, smashed two to pebbles as Lian deftly dodged the third before leaping in the air with her fist pulled back, ready to strike. The soldier she was targeting lifted another hunk of rock, but the heat from the fire was so intense it caused the rock to exploded, sending the earthbender into the rock wall behind him. He groaned as he crumpled to the ground.

With Zuko's two soldiers dealt with, that left two more, who, together, earthbent a large boulder toward the prince and Lian. Before either could move, though, Iroh wrapped the chains around the large rock and used its momentum to swing in a circle before sending it flying back at the earthbenders.

Finally, only their leader remained.

He punched smaller chunks of rock at Lian and Zuko, who ducked and weaved between the projectiles. Together, they sent separate blasts of fire at him, which he avoided by creating two small walls to take the flames.

Once the blazes had flickered out, he raised his arms above his head and a stream of pebbles and rocks of varying sizes erupted from the earth, towering over Zuko and Lian.

Before either could strike again, he was suddenly yanked backward by his feet, causing him to tip forward onto his face and the rocks and debris to crash back to earth.

As they stood over the groaning earthbenders, Zuko said to Lian, "Do any of them look familiar?"

"No," she sighed. "Those aren't the men."

For a brief moment, Zuko placed a comforting hand on her upper arm. Before she could comment, though, he turned away from her and put a hand on Iroh's shoulder. After a beat, his relieved expression was replaced with a scowl as he said irritably, "Now, would you _please_ put on some clothes?"

* * *

 **Author's Note: So there's chapter seven! As you can see, Lian's and Zuko's relationship is slowly becoming more friendly. I wouldn't say they see themselves as friends yet, but maybe as allies or acquaintances?**

 **If you have any thoughts, comments, concerns, questions, don't hesitate to let me know, whether it's about the chapter, story, or my little essay at the beginning of the chapter.**

 **I'd love to hear what you think!**

 **Big thank you to everyone who has read, commented, favorited, and followed!**

 **Until next time.**


	8. We're Off to See the Avatar

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **Big thanks to everyone who has read, and an extra huge thank you to those who commented, favorited, and followed!**

 **(Also, do you like what I did with that chapter title? Haha)**

* * *

VIII. We're Off to See the (Fire Nation) Avatar

* * *

 _As they stood over the groaning earthbenders, Zuko said to Lian, "Do any of them look familiar?"_

 _"No," she sighed. "Those aren't the men."_

 _For a brief moment, Zuko placed a comforting hand on her upper arm. Before she could comment, though, he turned away from her and put a hand on Iroh's shoulder. After a beat, his relieved expression was replaced with a scowl as he said irritably, "Now, would you_ please _put on some clothes?"_

Iroh chuckled heartily. "I'm afraid not, Prince Zuko," he said. "The soldiers, as kind as they were, would not allow me to get dressed before we departed."

"Kind?" Lian repeated, raising a skeptical eyebrow. "Iroh, I don't think Earth Kingdom soldiers have an inclination to be kind to you, or anyone who wears Fire Nation clothing."

"Oh, I'm sure that's not true."

Lian and Zuko shared a look but let it go. They proceeded to make their way back up the rocky cliff. When they reached the top, Liling snorted in greeting.

"Uncle, why don't you take my rhino," Zuko said, eyeing Iroh in nothing but a loincloth. "I'll ride with Lian."

She opened her mouth to argue but Zuko sent her an almost pleading look, so she kept quiet. "Fine. But you can ride in the back," she smirked. She mounted Liling before Zuko could argue, leaving him no choice but to climb into the saddle behind her.

"You ready, Iroh?" Lian asked. He nodded, thankfully already sitting in the saddle. She nudged Liling forward and Iroh followed.

Night had fallen by the time they reached the spot they had seen Appa and Zuko reached around Lian to grab the reins.

"Hey!" she exclaimed, whipping her head around to glare at him. "What happened to you being the passenger?"

"We might be able to find out where the Avatar was hiding," Zuko snapped before dropping his voice to a whisper. "Do you think you can...you know. _Sense_ them?"

Lian huffed. "I don't know!" she hissed. "I've never tried searching for someone I don't know!"

"Well, try!"

She growled under her breath but released her hold on Liling's reins. She had been around Appa just enough to get a feel for him, but given he had been flying, it was difficult to pick up on him. Luckily, he was pretty big and gave off quite a bit of heat.

"I think he went that way," she said finally.

"You think?" Zuko grumbled.

"Hey, he was flying and it's not like I've been around him as long as Iroh!" Lian snapped. "Take what you can get!"

"Fine," he muttered. "Uncle, we're going after the Avatar." He kicked Liling into motion before Iroh could respond.

The sudden movement forward caused Lian to lean into Zuko's chest with a small exclamation of surprise before she managed to grab hold of the saddle horn and straighten herself.

As they traveled, Lian had to fight to keep her eyes open. Several times, she was jolted awake by Zuko, who would catch her every time her body became slack.

He sighed and his hot breath fanned across her exposed ear. "You should get some rest," he murmured.

"No, I'm fine," Lian said, though her conviction was undercut by a wide yawn.

"Don't be so stubborn," Zuko huffed, glowering down at the teen.

"What about you?" she challenged, turning to meet his narrowed eyes, which were much closer than she had anticipated. "Aren't you tired?" she asked, though she lost her snap due to her surprise.

"No," he muttered, tearing his gaze from her face to stare straight ahead. He didn't elaborate and Lian felt her eyelids grow heavy again.

"Maybe just for a minute," she said, her words already slurring as her eyes dropped closed.

The ride was quiet for a while after that. Zuko, though, was hyperaware of Lian, whose small frame was leaned into his chest.

At first, he tried to get away with just making sure she stayed leaning against his chest as she slept. That proved to not be enough, as every time Lian slipped into deep sleep, she would inevitably slide one way or the other.

After the fourth time that happened, Zuko finally wrapped an arm around her waist to anchor her in place.

 _I'm doing this because I'm getting tired of straightening her every ten minutes_ , Zuko grumbled to himself, _not because I'm worried she'll get hurt._

She relaxed into him as she slumbered, her face turned into his neck. Her warm breath ghosted over his skin and he shivered. Zuko took a deep breath in an attempt to keep from growling out loud.

He wasn't mad at her or frustrated or anything like that. The problem was that he didn't know _what_ he was feeling at the moment, or in general when it came to Lian as of late. The more he got to know her, the more he realized how wrong he had been to treat her so terribly at the palace.

At one point, Lian sighed and muttered something under her breath, and Zuko thought it was a name: Ryu. Irrational irritation flared up in his chest.

Who was this Ryu person? What did he mean to Lian? Why was she dreaming of him?

He didn't get to stew long as the trees parted, revealing a clearing in front of a wall. Riding around it, they finally found an entrance. Zuko nudged Lian awake, perhaps a little rougher than necessary.

"I'm awake," she said as she jerked upright. She yawned and then squinted through the sleep in her eyes to see where they were.

Zuko guided Liling through the opening in the high wall, Iroh following closely behind. There was no sign of the Avatar's flying bison, and all the windows and doors were shut tight.

"What now?" Lian asked quietly as they rode through the center of the tiny farming settlement.

Her question was answered when a man emerged from one of the houses, yawning as he did. Zuko kicked Liling forward and quickly dismounted once they were close. The man's eyes quickly snapped open when he turned and found himself face-to-face with Prince Zuko.

"Having trouble sleeping?" he quipped, his eyes narrowing, before he shoved the man through the door he had just stepped through. He stepped closer and stood over the man. "Seen the Avatar lately?"

"P-please," the man stammered. "I know nothing."

"I think you do," Zuko countered sharply, grabbing the man's collar and hauling him off the floor. He raised his hand with a fire-lit fist but was prevented from punching by a slender hand on his wrist. "What?" he snapped, turning to glare ferociously at Lian.

She ignored his venomous stare and instead looked intently at the man. "As you can see, my companion here is a firebender," she said pleasantly. "So am I, as is the older gentleman with us." Lian gestured behind her to Iroh, who was still astride the rhino outside.

"I can smell ash in the air," she continued in the same conversational tone. "Did you have a fire recently?"

The man glanced nervously between a hard-faced Zuko and a softly smiling Lian. "A large forest fire," he said stiffly.

"And the buildings?" she wondered. "Were those a result of the fire?"

"No," he said. "The spirit that inhabits the forest was angry and wreaked havoc on our village."

With the same gentle smile, Lian said, "Well, it would be a shame to anger the spirit again. Of course, we could rectify the situation by simply destroying this little settlement of yours." Her expression never changed. "The choice is entirely yours."

Conflict flashed in the man's wide eyes, but he finally sighed heavily and hung his head. "They're heading to Crescent Island," he said heavily.

"You better not be lying," Zuko growled. "If you are, I will personally march the Fire Nation army into your sorry excuse for a town and see it burn." He released his grip on the man and stalked out of the house, Lian gliding more serenely behind him.

"Well?" Iroh asked as Lian and Zuko mounted Liling. "Did you get the information you seek?"

"Yes," Zuko said stiffly but didn't elaborate, not that Lian could blame him. She knew that if Iroh knew their destination before they set sail, he would do everything in his power to talk Zuko out of it.

The sun was just rising over the horizon when they finally got back to the ship. Lian insisted on taking Liling to the stables herself, and once the komodo rhino was settled in her stall, she finally trudged up to her room, where she collapsed on her bed face-first, not bothering to change into sleeping clothes or even get under the covers.

She was out in seconds.

* * *

Zuko kept Iroh in the dark for as long as he could. But eventually, the Dragon of the West figured it out.

"Sailing into Fire Nation waters," Iroh said as their ship chugged ahead. Zuko stood at the front of the observation deck, his eyes glued to the telescope. "Of all the foolish things you've done in your sixteen years, Prince Zuko," he continued, "this is the most foolish!"

"I have no choice, Uncle," Zuko replied evenly.

"Have you completely forgotten that the Fire Lord _banished_ you?!" Iroh exclaimed fiercely. "What if you're caught?" he asked, his tone now concerned rather than incredulous.

"I'm chasing the Avatar!" Zuko explained, turning to face his uncle. "My father will understand why I'm returning home." Lian couldn't tell if he was trying to convince them or himself.

"You give him too much credit," Iroh said gravely. "My brother is not the understanding type."

Zuko turned away from Iroh and went back to looking through the telescope. After a moment, he said, "There they are." Squinting, Lian could just make out the large form of the flying bison. Turning up to the tower, Zuko shouted, "Helmsman, full steam ahead! And raise the trebuchet!"

With that, he whirled around and stormed downstairs to the main deck, Iroh and Lian hot on his heels.

They arrived as the trebuchet was lifted from beneath the deck.

Iroh groaned as the heated tar was poured over the large rock. "Really, Prince Zuko," he grimaced, waving a fan in his face, "couldn't you shoot them down with something more fragrant?"

Zuko ignored Iroh's comment and proceeded to light the boulder. "On my mark," he commanded. He waited a beat before dropping his raised fist in time with this order to fire. The rope holding the arm of the trebuchet in place was sliced and the boulder went sailing through the air as the arm was released.

The bison evaded the first flaming rock. As the soldiers reset the trebuchet, Lian's breath caught in her throat.

"We got trouble," she warned nervously.

Zuko's eyes widened. "A blockade."

In the distance but approaching quickly were two long lines of Fire Navy ships moving in opposite directions of each other, creating a chain of constantly-moving and very imposing ships.

"Technically, you are still in Earth Kingdom waters," Iroh pointed out as he stroked his beard. "Turn back now and they cannot arrest you."

"I will follow the Avatar," Zuko snapped. "If the Avatar goes through the blockade, then we will too."

"Looks like we're going through the blockade," Lian grumbled as the large white bison failed to deviate from its path.

"Please, Prince Zuko," Iroh said desperately. "If the Fire Nation captures you, there is nothing I can do! Do not follow the Avatar."

Zuko closed his eyes tightly for a moment, looking conflicted. His mind was made up, though, and he said softly, "I'm sorry, Uncle," before shouting, "Run the blockade!"

In the distance, flames began to dance on the water. Lian realized a moment later that, no, those flames weren't _on_ the water; they were flames on the ships, which meant every ship along the blockade was about to be firing flaming boulders their way.

Sure enough, dozens of blazing rocks began sailing their way, each bright spot in the sky followed by a dark gray trail.

The ship began rocking as the boulders entered the water around them, disturbing the relatively calm waters. One landed so close, the displaced water sloshed onto the deck.

Lian yelped as the small wave shoved her against the side of the ship, and her footing was lost once again as the ship shuddered under her feet.

"Prince Zuko!" one of the engineers called. Behind him, dark plumes of smoke were emitting from the flames that had appeared at the stern of the ship. "The engines are damaged! We need to stop and make repairs!"

"Do not stop this ship!" Zuko yelled.

The deck shuddered again as it was pushed to the max and Lian stumbled her way back to Iroh.

"We're on a collision course!" the former general warned.

"We can make it!"

"Yeah, straight to the bottom of the ocean!" Lian snapped.

"Since when do you get frightened?!" Zuko exclaimed incredulously.

"Since you started going kamikaze on us!" she yelled. "Just because you don't mind dying for your honor doesn't mean the rest of us want to take that one-way ticket to the spirit world with you!"

"You can go below deck if all you're going to do is complain!"

"Oh, no!" Lian laughed humorlessly, shaking her head stubbornly. "No way am I leaving. If I'm going to die, I'd like to see the end coming!"

Zuko glared at her for a second longer before turning to face the oncoming blockade.

For a very tense minute, they sailed straight for the Fire Navy ships. At the last second, before they crashed with the first line of ships, loud hissing emitted from the ships indicating the engines had been cut.

Zhao stared down at them, Zuko responding with a glare. Once they had officially entered the Fire Nation, Iroh looked suspiciously behind them at Zhao's ships.

"What's he up to, Uncle?" Zuko growled, mostly rhetorically, as he stood at the front of the observation deck, his hands tight around the railing. "Why didn't Commander Zhao arrest me?"

"Because he wants to follow you," Iroh explained. "He knows you'll lead him to the prize you're both after—the Avatar."

"If Zhao wants to follow our trail of smoke, then that's exactly what I'll let him do."

Zuko turned and marched below deck, snapping at Lian to get her armor and meet him in the skiff bay. She exchanged uncertain glances with Iroh before scurrying to room, figuring it would be best to not argue this time.

He was waiting for her by the skiff. When she arrived, he stepped into the small boat and ordered the ramp to be lowered. Lian quickly hopped on as it began slowly being lowered on the chain.

"Uncle, keep heading north," Zuko instructed the former general, who had joined them in the bay. "Zhao will follow the smoke trail while _we_ use it as a cover."

Iroh just grunted, not looking too pleased with the plan. The skiff splashed into the water and began motoring toward Crescent Island.

The ride was tense. Lian broke the silence when she asked quietly, "Why do you need me?"

"Backup," Zuko replied shortly, not looking at her. She remained silent, unsure what to say.

When they finally docked, they hopped out and hurried toward the temple.

"Where do we go?" Lian muttered once they reached the entry way.

"Can't you just do your thing?" Zuko hissed.

She rolled her eyes. "In case you haven't noticed, _we're on top of a volcano_. There's heat everywhere!" Even as she said it, a light seemed to click in Lian's eyes. She turned away from Zuko with a sharp inhale and slowly scanned the empty floor. "This way," she said finally.

After what felt like a million hallways and secret passage ways, they finally came to a spiral staircase. As they reached the top, they crouched closer to the steps to avoid being seen. Zuko peeked around, getting a lay of the land.

"Stay here," he hissed. "I'll grab the Avatar and then we'll head back to the skiff."

"Fine," Lian whisper-snapped back, narrowing her eyes. "But as _soon_ as you have the Avatar, don't even think about drawing attention to yourself!"

"Fine," Zuko parroted before slinking toward a large column. Lian watched as Zuko clapped his hand over Aang's mouth to keep him from crying out in surprise before hissing something in his ear. He gripped Aang's wrists tightly behind his back before steering him toward the staircase.

Before they could reach Lian, though, she heard a commotion break out before Sokka yelled, "Now, Aang!"

"Aang, now's your chance!" Katara called when the Avatar failed to appear.

"The Avatar's coming with me," Zuko declared, stepping out from behind the large column with a struggling Aang in front of him.

Lian facepalmed once she got over her initial shock. _He couldn't do one tiny thing!_ she cried in her head.

From her vantage point, Lian could see the Fire Sages regain control of the situation by breaking free of the Water Tribe siblings' hold.

"Close the doors, quickly!" Zuko exclaimed. Lian, seeing the Fire Sages preoccupied with chaining up their prisoners, dashed forward.

With the help of one of the Sages, she managed to get the doors in motion, but not fast enough. Behind her, she could hear Zuko cry out in surprise before Aang came sprinting into view, heading for Katara and Sokka but redirecting himself when the former yelled, "Go!"

Aang leapt over the heads of the two Sages who had joined Lian in front of the door. She ducked before he could use her head as a springboard and she punched upward, bright flames exploding from her fist. Aang used airbending to disperse the flames and the force of the air knocked her down. She could only watch as he sailed through the closing doors, just in the nick of time.

"He made it!" Katara said excitedly.

A blue light similar to the one Lian had seen in the South Pole flooded the antechamer, the rays so bright she had to look away.

She blinked the spots from her eyes before getting to her feet with the help of one of the Fire Sages. She thanked him as Zuko stormed forward and positioned himself in front of the center dragon head, the four sages flanking him.

Simultaneously, they sent a fire blast at the dragon heads' open mouths. Smoke emitted from the doorframe, but nothing else happened.

"Why isn't it working?" Zuko asked in disbelief. "It's sealed shut!"

"It must have been the light," the head Sage growled. "Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside."

Zuko growled before turning to glare at the only restrained Sage. "Bring him forward," he snapped. Lian grabbed him by the upper arm and walked him ahead of her before forcing him onto his knees in front of Zuko.

"Why did you help the Avatar?" the prince asked sharply.

"Because it was once the sage's duty," he said plainly, and Lian couldn't help but secretly agree. "It is still our duty."

Clapping began to echo in the tall, open chamber and Lian looked for the source with everyone else and growled when she saw who it was.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance," Commander Zhao said sarcastically. "I'm sure the Fire Lord will understand when you explain why you betrayed him."

The head sage greeted Zhao with a bow, but he paid no mind to the red-robed figure.

"And Prince Zuko," Zhao continued, "it was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work. What? Did the lady think it up?" he sneered. His hard amber eyes flashed to Lian, who glared unabashedly at the commander, but he didn't even blink before returning his gaze to the group.

"Two traitors and a traitor by association, all in one day," he said in a tone that was as close to gleeful as Lian was sure he could get. "The Fire Lord _will_ be pleased." Lian heard footsteps behind her but before she could fight, one of Zhao's soldiers grabbed her wrists and forced her arms uncomfortably behind her back.

"You're too late, Zhao!" Zuko yelled defiantly. "The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."

Zhao didn't appear fazed at the news. "No matter," he said. "Sooner or later, he has to come out." His signature cold smile appeared on his lips.

"Get off of me!" Lian yelled angrily as the soldiers started walking her, Zuko, and the traitorous sage to another column. "Is this any way to treat a Lady?"

Zhao chuckled coldly. "Oh, my dear, I think you gave up your title when you ran off with the prince."

Lian sneered, rolling her eyes derisively. "You make it sound like such a fairytale, _Commander_ ," she spat. "Two children declaring their love for each other or some other frivolous fable. What tales you must spin."

Zhao stepped closer to her and with her chained to the column, she was forced to look up at him to maintain eye contact. "It's a shame, really," he drawled. "If it weren't for the mouth on you, you might have made a good match for my son, in spite of your peasant blood."

"Like Iroh would ever consent to marry me off to your spawn," Lian hissed.

The commander tsked at her like a scolded child. "Is that any way to speak to your superior?"

He cut off her answer by turning away from her, and Zuko could see her fists start to steam in fury. Zhao stood in the middle of his soldiers, facing the large doors, done with the meddling children. "When those doors open, unleash all your firepower!" he commanded.

"How's Aang going to make it out of this?" Lian heard Katara say across the way.

"How are _we_ going to make it out of this?" Sokka corrected desperately.

The glow returned and smoke began to seep under the door. Lian was forced to look away as the light intensified, but she could hear the metal doors creak and groan as they opened.

"Ready..."

When Lian was certain it was safe to look, she did. She gasped at the bright glowing eyes that were burned through the smoke and that were situated higher in the resulting darkness than Aang's would have been, and she felt her heart hammer in her chest in anticipation.

"Fire!"

Together, Zhao and his eight soldiers sent bright flames at the glowing-eyed figure. Lian watched in astonishment as the flames only redirected themselves into a bubble around the Avatar and then dispersed.

"Avatar Roku," Lian breathed in awe as the tall white-haired, white-bearded former incarnation of the Avatar appeared from the flames like a phoenix. Her astonishment was short lived as the fire the former Avatar had been controlling was sent their way. It washed over everything and Lian felt the chains around her loosen.

Zuko wasted no time in making a dash for it, but Lian could only stare, open mouthed, at the imposing figure before her.

"Come on!" Zuko yelled when he realized he was alone. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her after him. Something exploded behind them as they made a dash for the stairs, but Lian didn't have time to look behind her before they were descending the steps.

The ground rumbled and grew hotter beneath their feet as they continued their unsteady descent of the tower. The walls shook and the ceiling began to crumble, raining them with bits of stone and plaster.

Lian was about to sigh in relief when she saw the foyer, but it quickly turned into a startled exclamation as they were cut off by a pillar of lava that shot out of the floor, inches from them. On instinct, Lian raised a hand in front of her, palm facing out.

She only realized she had closed her eyes and turned away from Zuko exclaimed in shock, "What did you do?"

Raising her eyes, Lian gasped when she saw the lava had cooled to the point it was now a solid column of black, glassy rock.

"I did that?" she gaped before staring at her hand uncertainly.

"Never mind!" Zuko said quickly, shaking his head and grabbing her hand. "We have to go before this whole place goes down!"

He dragged her around the newly formed, still warm pillar and out in front of the temple. Lian glanced behind her and saw the whole structure was practically glowing with heat from the lava.

She finally turned and picked up her pace with Zuko as he led the way down the rocky land. Their skiff finally came into view and Zuko started the engine and Lian raised the anchor.

Once they were a decent distance from Crescent Island, Zuko followed the Avatar's progress through the sky with his eyeglass, glowering a little as he did.

 _So close, yet so far._

* * *

 **Author's Note: So we've now met (kinda) one of the characters that will play a part in Lian's quest! Who is he? How does Lian know him? Stay tuned to find out!**

 **I wish there was a test like the Pottermore house test to definitively say which element or even nation I would part of. I've taken some kinda lame quizzes, and I've gotten water most of the time, with one or two airs, which I don't think is me at all! I definitely think I'm more of a fire. What about you guys? What element would you like to be able to bend, have you taken any quizzes like that, and did you agree with the results? Let me know!**

 **If you have any questions, comments, concerns, general wonderings, don't be afraid to leave them below!**

 **P.S. Yesterday were the midterm elections here the US. I hope you guys voted, because regardless of party, it's so important you exercise your right to vote! We are so lucky we have the opportunity to elect those who represent us, and young people! Your vote _does_ matter and it _does_ count! I have been eligible to vote since 2016 and I have voted every chance I've gotten since then! I take so much pride in being able to say I voted, because I want people to know that I am an involved individual who cares about the direction this country goes, and I _want_ to be able to have a say in that. I live here, after all, and everything that happens on the Hill has the potential to greatly affect me or those I know.**

 **Okay, my first and last political rant, I promise!**

 **Until next time.**


	9. Pai Sho, There's That Tile!

**Author's Note: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **I didn't mean to disappear for so long, but life, you know? But Thanksgiving was yesterday for Americans, and I'm putting off writing an essay for BritLit, so I thought I'd post!**

 **Speaking of Thanksgiving, I'm so thankful to everyone who has read, favorited, followed, and commented! It really does make me very happy and put a smile on my face.**

* * *

IX. Pai Sho, There's That Tile!

* * *

Lian was in her room on her bed when she was suddenly rolled off of it by the sharp turn of the ship. She landed awkwardly on her shoulder and as she sat up, she winced a little as she rubbed it. She poked her head out of her door to see a furious Zuko—who had traded his chic-armor-casual look for a plain red tunic and pants—march past and up to the bridge. She quickly followed.

"What's the meaning of this mutiny?!" he demanded as he barged onto the bridge.

"That's a bit extreme," Lian said, rolling her eyes.

"No one told you to change course," Zuko continued as though he hadn't heard Lian, glaring at Boran.

From behind Zuko, Iroh's calm voice said, "Actually, someone did." Zuko turned away from the bridge operator and toward his uncle. "I assure you," he continued, "it is a matter of utmost importance, Prince Zuko."

"Is it something to do with the Avatar?" Zuko asked, sounding much less furious than he had a moment ago.

Lian snorted. "If I know Iroh, I doubt it," she joked.

"Even more urgent," Iroh insisted. "It seems I—" He paused, looking a little embarrassed. "I've lost my lotus tile," he explained sadly before moving one of his Pai Sho pieces.

"Lotus tile?" Zuko repeated dryly.

"For my Pai Sho game," he explained. "Most people think the lotus tile insignificant. But, it is essential for the unusual strategy I employ."

"You've changed our course for a stupid _lotus tile_?" Zuko asked incredulously.

Iroh didn't seem fazed, though. Instead, he went on. "See, you, like most people underestimate its value. Just give me ten minutes to check the merchants at this port of call," he requested. "Hopefully, they'll have the lotus tile in stock and I can get on with my life."

Zuko took a deep breath before exhaling a puff of smoke and some flames out of his mouth in irritation.

"I'm lucky to have such an understanding nephew," Iroh smiled even as Zuko's non-understanding anger-smoke filled the small space.

Lian coughed and pulled out one of the golden fans she had taken from Kyoshi Island from the waistband of her pants. She fluttered it in front of her face (like a proper Lady) and said sweetly, "Yeah, Zuko is _so_ understanding." He shot a glare her way, but she just shrugged. "What? You _are_ the understanding type?"

He had no comeback, which caused him to glower harder at her before stalking away.

"Would you care to join us, Lian?" Iroh asked once Zuko had disappeared.

"Sure," she shrugged as she plopped next to the retired general. Hanseok offered her a cup of tea, which she happily accepted before the next round started.

She stayed in the bridge, playing Pai Sho with Boran, Jae (the helmsman), and Captain Wei. After the fifth game, Jae, Hanseok, and Wei were groaning.

"Are you sure you're not related to Lord Iroh by blood?" Wei asked as Lian smirked and collected the pot.

Iroh laughed heartily. "No, I'm afraid not," he said. "She has far more potential than even me, the Dragon of the West!"

"You just want in on the betting pool!" Lian said, rolling her eyes. "I mean, you're the great General Iroh. No one's better than you."

"You are too kind," Iroh said bashfully.

Jae stood with a groan, stretching the kinks from his back as he did. "I'd better get to work," he said. "We should approaching the port soon."

"Then I'd better put this in my room," Lian taunted teasingly as she collected her coin pouch. "We should play again sometime!"

She laughed at the half-hearted agreements she got from the three men as she headed down the steps to the hallway below. She hummed quietly to herself as she walked to her room, her steps light and her coin purse heavy.

Once in her room, Lian deposited most of the coins into a locked box she kept beneath her bed. She reattached the pouch to her belt, then placed her kunais into their sheaths at her hips.

Given Zuko's reluctance to dock early, he stuck with Iroh as he perused the many small shops and stalls in the marketplace. Lian followed with less attitude, simply happy to be on solid ground.

By midday, Iroh finally admitted defeat. "I've checked all the shops on this pier," he said to a glowering Prince Zuko. "Not a lotus tile in the entire marketplace!"

"It's good to know this trip was a complete waste of time for everyone!" Each word grew in volume and intensity until he was yelling in Iroh's face.

"Quite the contrary," Iroh countered. "I always say the only thing better than finding something you are looking for," he explained, "is finding something you weren't looking for at a great bargain!"

Several soldiers trudged past them, their arms full and stacked with who knows what.

The last soldier walked past carrying a sungi horn in a bowl and Zuko asked about it.

"For music night on the ship," Iroh clarified before following after the parade of stuff. "Now, if we only had some woodwinds..." he mumbled thoughtfully to himself.

They were walking along the pier when something caught Iroh's eyes. "Ooh, this place looks promising!" he exclaimed, sounding like a child walking past a toy shop.

Lian eyed the ship warily. It was on the smaller side, but the golden yellow trim and large sails that were bright red and reminded her of the wings of dragons were certainly eye-catching.

Iroh eagerly approached the ship, Zuko following behind grudgingly and Lian suspiciously.

She had to admit, though, that they certainly had an intriguing knife selection. Lian perused the knife stands, occasionally lifting one from its brace and testing its weight and balance.

"Ohh, that is handsome!" she heard Iroh say. She turned and saw him admiring a stone monkey with ruby eyes and a ruby collar. "Wouldn't it look magnificent in the galley?"

A voice droned behind them, "We lost the Water Tribe girl and the little bald monk she was traveling with."

Zuko turned immediately and stalked up to the men. "This monk," he said. "Did he have an arrow on his head?"

Lian rolled her eyes and went back to the blades. She heard Zuko strike a deal with the pirates (she was confident they were pirates; their unique selection of everything and anything was the first clue) and glanced around to see no one was paying attention to her.

With a smirk, she pocked a small, sleek silver balisong inlaid with mother of pearl just as Iroh called for her attention. Lian joined Zuko and Iroh as they walked down the gang plank and toward their own ship.

"It appears the Avatar and his friends have stolen a valuable scroll from these lovely men," Iroh explained as they walked through the ship and toward the skiff bay. "So, we are teaming up, since our interests are aligned."

"Temporarily," Lian emphasized under her breath, eyeing the pirate captain and his iguana parrot, which whipped its head around to stare right back at her. She took a deep breath and exhaled sharply, sending a puff of smoke toward its beaky face. It squawked and flapped its wings indignantly. The captain turned an eye toward Lian, who smiled innocently and said, "I love your iguana parrot."

Their skiff took off once they were boarded and slid into the water. The pirate ship pushed off from the dock and sailed beside the much smaller watercraft as they exited the bay and started on the river.

"Shouldn't we stop to search the woods?" the pirate captain asked as they glided across the mostly-still water.

"We don't need to stop," Zuko explained. "They stole a waterbending scroll, right?" The captain grunted in affirmation. "Then they'll be on the water," the prince drawled.

They sailed through the early evening and into the night. Lian let the prince and the pirate have their alone time on the deck, choosing to sit with Iroh in the small bridge and play Pai Sho. Wei watched on eagerly, as the royals were playing a teaching game, and Lian joked that with the way Wei played, he'd need all the help he could get if he wanted to win back his money.

At some point, Lian finally drifted to sleep, curled like a cat-sloth in the corner, the humming of the engine lulling her to an easy sleep.

When she woke, it was because the gentle rocking of the skiff abruptly stopped, causing Lian to sit up then wince a little at the kink in her neck.

She massaged the sore spot as she joined Iroh on deck, Zuko directing his soldiers to wait on the bank of the river while one of the pirates set off with the prince just beyond Lian's line of sight.

A minute later, Zuko reappeared with a struggling Katara in his grasp. He ordered a soldier to tie her to one of the trees as the rest of their small crew stepped off the skiff.

Everyone gathered around the tree: the pirates to Katara's right and the Fire Nation soldiers to her left. The gray-bearded man and teenage girl traveling with the hot-headed prince stood slightly apart from the fully-armored soldiers, and Zuko even more apart from them.

"Tell me where he is," the prince demanded once Katara was securely tied up, "and I won't hurt you or your brother."

"Go jump in the river!" Katara snapped.

Zuko glanced away briefly, trying to figure out his next move. Thinking of it, he said in a more persuasive tone, "Try to understand." He slowly stepped closer to Katara. "I need to capture him," he explained as he circled around her, "to restore something I've lost—my honor." Stopping over her shoulder, he said, "Perhaps in exchange, I can restore something you've lost."

In the light of the moon, the pale blue gem of Katara's necklace glinted as Zuko held it up to her neck.

"My mother's necklace!" she exclaimed. He smirked triumphantly and moved away, the necklace dangling from his fingers. "Where did you get that?!" Katara demanded.

"I didn't _steal_ it, if that's what you're wondering," Zuko said, taking his original position in front of the young waterbender. "Tell me where he is," he tried again.

"No!" Katara said stubbornly.

From the side, the pirate captain snarled, "Enough of this necklace garbage. You promised the scroll!"

Zuko pulled the scroll from his belt and held it above the flame he had conjured in his palm. "I wonder how much money this is worth," he said conversationally. There was a collective gasp by the pirates. The prince smirked. "A lot, apparently. Now, you help me find what I want, you'll get this back, and everyone goes home happy. Search the woods for the boy and meet back here."

"Fine," the captain growled, turning and stalking away from the prince and soldiers.

Lian yawned widely, drawing Zuko's attention away from the captive waterbender and the retreating pirates. His scowl softened minutely as he instructed, "Hu and Riku, stay wth Lian and Uncle by the ship. We'll probably camp by the bank tonight."

"Don't worry about me," Lian tried waving off. "I can take care of myself."

"Yes, but you are tired, and it is late," Iroh pointed out. He yawned widely himself and said, "I could do with some shut eye myself." With that, he settled at the base of a tree a few feet away, signing contently before leaning against the trunk.

"Come on, Little Sun," Hu grinned, nudging her shoulder as he walked past her. "You look like you could use some sleep."

"Hmm, maybe just a minute," Lian finally acquiesced, letting him guide her to a tree beside Iroh. Once Hu had adjusted Katara's bonds to let her sit on the ground, he joined Riku and Lian.

Iroh dozed off immediately, but Lian found she couldn't get her mind to shut off. She convinced Hu and Riku to sit with her, reminding them that Iroh was asleep and she could handle Zuko if he accused them of sleeping on the job.

"How've you been?" Riku asked as Lian rested her head on his shoulder.

She shrugged. "Okay, I guess," she said. After a pause, she mumbled, "I told Zuko how my parents died."

Hu let out a low whistle. "Wow. What brought that on?"

"He walked in when I was staring at the man's painting," Lian said. "It just kinda...came out."

"Well, it's nice to see you and the prince finally bonding," Riku said.

"I wouldn't call it _bonding_ ," she protested immediately, sitting up to stare at her friend.

"Whatever you want to call it," he corrected with a knowing grin, holding his hands up in surrender, "I'm glad you two are no longer trying to kill each other."

"Hmm." Lian gave Riku a suspicious side glance before leaning against him again.

After a bit, Lian, still unable to sleep, stood to stretch her legs. She assured Hu and Riku she would stay in their line of sight and set off.

As she passed Katara, the waterbender spoke up. "Do all Fire Nation citizens bow and grovel at His Royal Pain's behest?"

Lian couldn't help but snort, as Katara's statement was as far from the truth as one could possibly get.

"What?" the blue-eyed girl demanded. "Did I say something funny?"

"Funnier than you could imagine," Lian replied dryly.

"I don't get it," Katara continued. "How could anyone go along with the Fire Nation's regime? Your people killed my mother!"

Lian froze and slowly turned her hardened gaze to Katara. "You think you're the only one to suffer in this war?" she hissed.

"You're traveling with the Prince of the Fire Nation, so you must be related to him!" Katara exclaimed. "So what could you have possibly lost?"

"Everything!" she snarled and Katara jerked back in surprise. "You might have lost your mother, but I lost my people! An entire village of innocent civilians was wiped out at the whim of the Earth Kingdom."

Katara's eyes widened. She had heard of plenty of atrocities committed by the Fire Nation, but never by the Earth Kingdom. Could she be lying?

No, Katara mused, she was telling the truth. Her dark gray eyes were glossy with unshed tears and the emotions reflected their depths didn't look fake.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I didn't know."

Lian scoffed, her lip curling slightly. "Of course you didn't," she muttered, shaking her head. "We're the bad guys and you're the good guys and good guys never do wrong, right?" she said sarcastically.

Katara could only stare at her in shock, unable to think of a response. Before she could, though, Lian turned on her heel and stormed away.

When she settled back next to Riku sometime later, he raised an eyebrow. "You okay, Little Sun?"

"I'm fine," she muttered. "Just tired." With that, she leaned against his shoulder and closed her eyes, effectively shutting down any attempt to dig into what was bothering her.

Zuko finally returned a few hours later, the late hour causing his own eyes to burn with exhaustion, despite how awake and alert his body and mind felt. He came back to the bank of the river to see Iroh had disappeared (he found him in the bridge of the skiff sleeping on a thin cot) and Lian curled like a cat-sloth at the base of a tree.

Riku's thigh was her pillow and Hu sat on Lian's other side, keeping an eye out for possible danger.

Zuko felt irritation toward the youngest soldier flare up in his chest, but he couldn't figure out why. With a frustrated huff, he marched up to them. Hu sprang to his feet and understandably, Riku stayed seated, but that didn't stop Zuko from snapping.

"When your prince approaches, you stand at attention," he said sharply and a little louder than necessary.

Riku glanced between Zuko and Lian before gently raising her head and readjusting her so she was resting completely on the ground. He then stood and saluted. Zuko nodded stiffly and Riku and Hu relaxed, the former sinking back to the ground.

As he settled in beside Lian again, she stirred. "What time is it?" she slurred sleepily.

"Sorry to disturb you, Little Sun," Riku said as Lian drowsily returned her head to his lap.

"Lian, there are cots on the skiff," Zuko interrupted loudly, causing the other teen to blink awake and glare at him.

"Thanks for your concern," she said sarcastically, "but if I wanted to sleep on a cot, I would have.

Zuko snapped his mouth shut with a start. She had a point. Why did he suddenly care? She certainly didn't think he truly was concerned, given her delivery, but what made him say what he did in the first place?

He nodded quickly at Hu and Riku before spinning on his heel and marching toward the skiff. Once he had vanished from sight, the two young soldiers shared a glance over a slumbering Lian.

Day broke and the pirates and Fire Nation soldiers roused. Iroh stepped out onto the deck of the skiff after Zuko.

"How did you sleep, Lord Iroh?" Hu asked the old general politely as he joined Lian on the bank.

"Wonderfully, thank you," Iroh said with a happy smile. "And yourself?"

"Just fine," Riku answered. "How 'bout you, Lian?"

Lian rolled her eyes. "It would have been marvelous if Zuko hadn't stomped about at who knows what time."

Iroh raised a questioning eyebrow at the two young men, but they only chuckled. Lian shot them an annoyed glare but didn't say anything.

Zuko stepped off the skiff and marched over tot he pirates. "Well?" he asked. "Those woods aren't going to search themselves!"

The captain scowled but held his tongue. He gestured to the pirates and they set off into the trees again.

It was a much shorter search with the help of daylight. When the pirates reappeared with Aang and Sokka in tow, Zuko looked pleased. "Nice work," he commended. He stepped forward with the scroll.

From the tree, Katara said sadly, "Aang, this is all my fault."

"No, Katara, it isn't," the bald Avatar assured.

Lian raised an eyebrow. "It kinds is, though," she said.

"Give me the boy," Zuko demanded.

" _You_ give _us_ the scroll," the captain countered.

Sokka glanced at the pirate captain and asked incredulously, "You're really gonna hand over the Avatar for a stupid piece of parchment?"

 _Uh oh_ , Lian groaned in her head.

"Don't listen to him," Zuko snapped, glaring at Sokka. "He's trying to turn us against each other."

The pirate captain didn't pay any attention to Zuko, though. He turned to Aang and asked in disbelief, "Your friend is the Avatar?"

"Sure is," Sokka assured brightly. "And I'll bet he'll fetch _a lot_ more on the black market than that fancy scroll."

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko snarled, his eyes narrowing further.

"Yeah, Sokka," Aang said uneasily, "you really should shut your mouth."

"I'm just saying," the blue-eyed boy continued with a casual shrug, "it's bad business sense. Just imagine how much the Fire Lord would pay for the Avatar. You guys would be set for life!"

"Keep the scroll," the captain said dismissively at the Fire Nation guard. Lian facepalmed. "We can buy a hundred with the reward we'll get for the kid."

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me," Zuko growled angrily. He and two soldiers sent simultaneous fire blasts at the pirates, knocking most of them backward.

One pirate, dressed in green with a long face and narrow eyes rushed them, dodging another blast and throwing small marbles in their direction. Lian coughed and stumbled away as they were enveloped in smoke.

Once she got a clear shot, Lian reached for her sword, strapped to her back, but Iroh placed a hand on her wrist. "Let them fight this one out," he said. "No good will come from this." She grumbled but nodded, dropping her hand from the sword hilt.

Sure enough, a few minutes later, Lian saw large shapes moving smoothly across the river through the dark smoke.

Iroh broke the captain and Zuko apart. "Are you so busy fighting you cannot see your own ship has set sail?!" he exclaimed.

"We have no time for your proverbs, Uncle!" Zuko snapped.

"It's not a proverb," Iroh assured, pointing down the river to show the pirate and the prince that the great-sailed ship was indeed sailing merrily down the river.

"Bleeding hog-monkeys!" the pirate captain exclaimed before taking off down the river bank.

Zuko bust out laughing, but Lian was quick to silence him. "I wouldn't be too happy about that," she said dryly.

While the Avatar and his friends had stolen the pirate ship, the pirates had stolen their skiff.

"Hey, that's my boat!" Zuko yelled angrily as he too took off down the bank.

"Hmm," Iroh hummed thoughtfully, rubbing his chin in contemplation. "Maybe it should be a proverb."

"Come on, Uncle!" the prince said, pulling Iroh from his thoughts.

"This is pointless!" Lian yelled even as she hurried after Zuko. "They have ships and we're running!"

"If we can cut them off, we can get our boat back!" Zuko argued, glaring at her over his shoulder.

"Cut them off how?! And with what?!"

Zuko and Lian ran until the ground disappeared and the river turned into a giant waterfall, over which their skiff had fallen.

"My boat!" Zuko wailed as he stared over the side of the cliff.

Behind them, Iroh finally appeared, panting and looking as though he was ready to pass out. He leaned over his knees to catch his breath. When he straightened, he placed his hands in his sleeves before chuckling sheepishly.

"Prince Zuko," he said, "you're really going to get a kick out of this. The lotus tile was in my sleeve the whole time!" Iroh pulled out the tile in question and showed it to his fuming nephew.

Zuko swiped it from Iroh's outstretched hand and chucked it into the river.

"Great!" Lian yelled sarcastically, throwing her arms in the air in exasperation. "Now we're back to square one: searching for that blasted lotus tile!"

They glared at each other fiercely, so close the tips of their boots were almost touching. Fresh ash and molten gold locked gazes, both furious for different reasons.

Iroh, sensing they would stand there until one of them blinked, cleared his throat. "Given we have no boat back to the ship, we should get going before it gets dark."

"And whose fault is that?!" Zuko exploded, turning away from Lian to glare at Iroh.

"We're getting nowhere!" Lian groaned, rubbing her forehead. "Let's just get to the others."

She stormed down the river bank, Iroh behind her and Zuko lagging behind them.

When they reached the other soldiers, she all but snarled without breaking stride, "We lost the skiff. We're walking back to the docks."

* * *

 **Author's Note: Cheesy chapter title? Sorry, I couldn't think of anything else!**

 **As I was creating this character, I first was going to have Lian be less Fire Nation-loyal, but I figured, if her parents and village were senselessly murdered by Earth Kingdom soldiers, she wouldn't think very favorably of the Earth Kingdom, and would probably believe in the Fire Nation doctrine even more. I hope the interaction between her and Katara was believable!**

 **If you have any questions or comments or concerns or anything else you want to bring to my attention, don't be afraid to let me know!**

 **Until next time.**


	10. Spar On the Brain

**A/N: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **Wow, I am so sorry for being MIA for as long as I have. It was a series of unfortunate events, first with the end of the winter semester, then a bad case of writer's block, then a decline in my mental health, and then topped off with a disinterest in doing anything remotely productive. If that wasn't enough, I also rewrote this entire chapter, which I did in tiny segments from my last update to basically this update. It was an annoying case of, "How do I get from Big Important Scene A to Big Important Scene B while telling a meaningful part of their tale?"**

 **I can't promise I'm back regularly (or even semi-regularly), and I'm not sure how long I'll be performing at under 100%, but please bear with me as I battle my demons. But never fear: Lian, Zuko, and this amazing series is never far from my thoughts; even if my fingers don't feel like being productive, know that my mind never shuts off, and these characters live 24/7 in my brain.**

 **Enough of my rambling! Onto the story!**

* * *

X. Spar On the Brain

* * *

The sun was already sinking by the time they made it to the ship. Everyone was irritable, but of course, no one was more irritable than Zuko or Lian. She led the charge, obviously determined to get back to the docks as soon as possible. She was silent the whole time, and not even Riku or Hu dared try calm her. Zuko sulked in the back, scowling at everything and snapping at anything that got in his way. Iroh, as usual, was jolly and chatted with any soldier who happened to be next to him. He was a breath of fresh air and the soldiers all silently thanked the spirits that Iroh didn't share Ozai's disposition.

"I'm going to bed," Lian announced shortly as they climbed the ramp. " _Don't_ disturb me, under _any_ circumstances. I don't care if we're sinking or on fire or under attack."

"Yes, My Lady," Jee said with a short bow, answering for the rest of the crew. "You shall remain undisturbed." In the two and a half years on the ship, Lian had only been this testy with the crew a handful of times, so they knew to respect her space.

Lian nodded sharply before turning and marching to her room. She felt a little funny, being addressed as "Lady" and throwing around ridiculous orders, but tonight, she just didn't want to deal with anyone.

When she reached her room, Lian paced. She felt restless and agitated and just wanted to punch something!

There was a knock on her door and she scowled, already knowing the only person who would disregard her order was Iroh.

"What?" she asked shortly once she had wretched the door open.

"Pardon me, my dear," Iroh said jovially. "I was wondering if perhaps your restlessness might be best tempered with some meditation."

Lian leveled Iroh with a deadpan look, clearly unimpressed with his suggestion.

Iroh chuckled, as though he was expecting that reaction from his ward. "Perhaps that was not one of my most brilliant ideas."

She rolled her eyes but stepped aside so he could enter her room. "What can I do for you, Iroh?" she asked, looking slightly less steamed.

"Prince Zuko is currently on deck, firebending," Iroh said ocnversationally.

When he said nothing further, Lian said slowly, "And I care because..."

"I thought perhaps you and he could spar," he said simply. "I think both of you could benefit from letting out some...steam." He looked pleased with his little joke, and Lian couldn't help but roll her eyes again.

"At this moment, I'm sure that if we sparred, we'd end up killing each other," she said bluntly, crossing her arms over her chest. "Besides, I'm dirty and I plan on soaking away today with a nice long bath."

"Very well," Iroh shrugged. "Just thought I would mention it."

After he said good-night and departed, Lian shut the door firmly behind Iroh and let out a breath. She was beyond exhausted and still rather miffed at what had transpired with the pirates. Shaking her head a little, Lian headed for her small attached bathroom, where she began pumping water from the water tank on board into the tub.

Once the tub was full to her satisfaction, Lian sent a few fire blasts into the designated funnel to heat the water before stripping. She smiled a little when she pulled the balison she had "acquired" from the pirates from the waistband of her pants and set it on top of her discarded garments.

She sank into the water with a relieved sigh, feeling the tension leave her shoulders and melt into the hot water. Lian pulled the pins from her hair and let them fall to the floor around the tub before scratching her nails over her scalp to ease the ache that burned at the roots. Once she was satisfied, she draped her hair over the side of the tub and rested her head against the little padded headrest.

Once the bathwater had run cold, Lian drained the water and then washed properly. She wrapped a towel around her body once she was done, and then stepped out of her bathroom, a pile of clothes in one arm and flipping the balisong in her free hand.

The next morning, breakfast was quiet. Zuko was still fuming over the loss of the Avatar, Lian was still angry at Zuko for making them hike back to the ship, and Iroh was...well, Iroh. He hummed contently as he sipped his tea and ate the bowl of congee, which he refilled several times through the meal.

By midmorning, both prince and ward were on deck, the former training relentlessly with some misfortunate soldiers and the latter serenely going through firebending forms. Iroh sat on deck with a table set for Pai Sho, patiently waiting with a pot of tea for Lian to join him.

Once she was satisfied with her forms, Lian sat across from Iroh in the lotus position, taking the cup of tea with a small smile.

The first game they played in silence, but by the time they were setting up the board for the next round, Lian could tell Iroh wanted to say something by the glimmer in his eyes. She waited for him, though, and smirked a little when he finally spoke, feeling pleased she had been correct in her deduction.

"I do hope those pirates won't miss their balisong," Iroh said conversationally as he placed his tile. "It was quite a handsome piece of craftsmanship."

"Yes, it was," Lian nodded nonchalantly, playing her hand. Iroh grinned and eagerly set his piece. As she placed her tile on the board, she pulled the knife in question from the waistband of her pants, where it resided beside the golden fan from Kyoshi Island. "I wonder how much it was worth."

Iroh chuckled as Lian began to twirl the knife in her hand, the metal and mother of pearl flashing in the sun. "Perhaps it is best we have no more business with those pirates," he said.

"Yes, good riddance to those scoundrels!" Lian said boisterously, pausing her knife-twirling long enough to make a fist in a dramatic pose. Iroh laughed his full-bellied laugh and Lian smiled in response as she resumed the twirling and the game.

As Lian set the board for their third round, Iroh looked over his ward's shoulder at his nephew to see the prince taking a break and the soldiers he was sparring with looking in desperate need of a rest.

When Iroh failed to respond to Lian right away, she waved her hand in front of his face. "Pardon?" he asked, his eyes regaining focus and landing on her.

"I was just saying it's ready," Lian said, gesturing to the Pai Sho board in front of them.

"Indeed," Iroh observed, though Lian could tell he wasn't really interested in playing Pai Sho anymore. With a frown, she followed his gaze, which had once again drifted from the table.

When she saw what had caught his attention, she huffed and whirled back to him. "You're still not insisting I fight Zuko, are you?" she asked incredulously. "I told you last night, we'd probably kill each other if we crossed flames."

"Yes, but that was last night," Iroh waved off. "You have both had time to sleep off any negative feelings from last night, it's a new day, and the sun is shining brightly today!"

"The last thing we need fueling a fight," Lian muttered, "a full sun enhancing _both_ of our firebending."

"Bah!"

"Why are you so interested in us sparring, anyway?" Lian questioned, suddenly suspicious of the wily Dragon of the West. "It's been more than two years since we step foot on this ship."

Iroh chuckled as he sipped his tea. "To be fair, had you two fought then, you might have _actually_ killed each other."

"So what's suddenly changed?"

"Well, I certainly can't answer that for you, or for Zuko, for that matter," Iroh skirted with a shrug. "I simply think you would provide helpful challenges to each other, being of same skill and age."

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," Lian said, her tone only a little sarcastic; he was still the great General Iroh, after all, and even if he was her guardian, he was only human, and would only take so much lip from her. "Now, are we playing or what?"

"If that is your wish," Iroh replied, setting his teacup down.

"It is," Lian said, and Iroh placed the first tile.

Lian turned in before Iroh, saying she wanted to relax a bit in her room before dinner. Iroh bid her good-bye as she made her way to the central tower. Zuko had long ago dismissed his sparring partners and was now practicing his forms on the deck alone, and Iroh observed from his place on deck.

He stood once Zuko had finished the form and joined his nephew as the prince stopped to towel off and hydrate from the drinking bucket.

"You are progressing quickly, Prince Zuko," Iroh said as the teen drank greedily from the ladle.

"Not fast enough," Zuko grumbled, dropping the ladle into the bucket and watching as a little water splashed over the sides. "It would be so much better if my sparring partners didn't leave me to practice on my own."

"Well, these men do have duties aboard," Iroh pointed out with a casual shrug.

"I'm sure two could be spared as permanent sparring partners," Zuko scowled. "I mean, we have enough men, don't we?"

"To run the ship, of course," Iroh nodded. "But that is assuming everyone on board is healthy."

"Why don't you spar with me, then?" Zuko snapped, glaring at Iroh and the towel in his hand steaming in irritation. "Since you seem to have all the time in the world to play Pai Sho with the crew."

Iroh chuckled, which only seemed to frustrate Zuko further. "You know very well my fighting days are behind me," he said good-naturedly, opening his fan as the steam from the towel turned to smoke. "There is someone on board who could be a potential sparring partner, though," he said casually.

Zuko's eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Who?" he asked slowly.

"Lian," Iroh said lightly, ignoring Zuko's hesitant tone.

"Figures," the prince grumbled. "I don't want to spar with Lian!" he said hotly.

"Why not?" Iroh asked, an innocent enough question, but for Zuko, who realized he had no real answer, he sputtered angrily before storming off, his towel now smoldering.

Zuko slammed his bedroom door behind him, tossing the burnt towel aside. The acrid smell filled the enclosed space, though, and with an angry scowl, he stomped to his window and wretched it open in an attempt to clear the foul scent.

He began pacing, now regretting storming off; he was more frustrated than he was last night, and all he wanted to do was fire-punch something, but he got the feeling he couldn't do that in his room without setting everything on fire.

 _Why must Uncle be like that?_ he grumbled in his head. It was like Iroh knew exactly what set Zuko off, but he did or said exactly that anyway. Why, Zuko hadn't the foggiest. But it certainly made it difficult to travel with Iroh sometimes.

The longer Zuko paced, though, the more he forgot _why_ he was so steamed. He remembered what had caused him to storm away, but just couldn't remember why it had caused such a reaction.

Lian was of course a skilled fighter, in firebending and knife-wielding. She was an official ward of Lord Iroh, brother of the Fire Lord, and was afforded privileges most girls in the Fire Nation would only dream about. Sure, most probably wouldn't have knife fighting at the top of their list, but for whatever reason, Lian seemed to enjoy it and had poured hours into training.

With a frustrated sigh, Zuko rubbed his hands over his face. He and Lian had been together for two and a half years, and it took the discovery of the Avatar to get them even remotely friendly with each other. The remnants of their time at the palace still lingered, though, and made Zuko's gut reaction toward her to be of disdain and his first desire to pick a fight.

Sure, they had made _some_ progress since the time the Avatar had been rediscovered, but it was still engrained in Zuko to act a certain way toward Lian, and that was going to prove difficult to break.

With a tired sigh, Zuko flopped onto his bed and closed his eyes, resolved to do his best to continue building at least a some-what friendly relationship with Lian.

Iroh could only chuckle as he watched his nephew stomp away, shaking his head a little. _Honestly_ , he thought to himself, _these children don't know a good thing when it's right in front of them. Does a dragon have to fly by and spell it out for them in the sky?_

The image of a dragon flying across the sky and writing messages made Iroh chuckle. What would be the dragon's writing instrument?

With that humorous picture in his head, he headed toward the tower, a little smile across his face.

* * *

 **A/N: So I'm finally back with a chapter!**

 **It was shorter than I would have liked, but I felt I needed to get something out as soon as I was happy with the result, so here we are!**

 **Again, I'm not sure when my next update will be, but I'm not abandoning this story! Also, you should thank Kpop, since it really helped me write before my unfortunate writer's block. If you wanna talk about your favorite group, artist, or song in the Kpop genre, PM me!**

 **If you have any questions, comments, or concerns about Lian, Zuko, or their journey, don't hesitate to comment!**

 **Until next time.**


	11. The First Spar

**A/N: I own nothing you recognize.**

 **So...it's been a minute...or a year. Sorry about that...**

 **It's been many more months of lack of inspiration and dips in my mental health, and then to top it off, I no longer have access to this marvelous series, making it more difficult to write chapters.**

 **This was also another chapter in which I couldn't quite figure out how I wanted it to advance. I thought this spar was a long time coming and wanted to put at least a little detail into it, but that proved challenging, hence the very long delay in postings.**

 **I should have a few chapters that are for the most part done and easily edited without the content right in front of me. I am actually kinda proud of those, and really wanted to get those out, but I thought this was too important to leave out.**

 **Anyway, onto the story!**

* * *

XI. The First Spar

* * *

The next morning, as Lian was getting dressed for breakfast, there was a knock on her door. "With a confused frown, she called, "Who is it?"

"Jiwoo, my lady," the soldier said through the door. "I have a scroll for you, delivered just now."

Lian quickly pulled on her tunic and opened the door to receive the scroll, sealed with the mark of a prison she had messaged several weeks earlier.

"Thank you," she said, and Jiwoo gave her a short bow before turning down the hall.

Breaking the seal, Lian quickly scanned the note, sighing when the culminating message was, "I am sorry to inform you we do not have a prisoner here that matches the description you gave us. Please let us know if there's anything we can do for you in the future!"

The parchment went up in flames in an instant, and with a sigh, Lian finished getting ready for breakfast before leaving her room and heading to the dining room.

She was still quite frustrated as she sat beside Iroh, and she moodily jabbed her rice porridge with her spoon. Iroh watched on, his warm amber eyes observing his ward.

"This is pointless," Lian finally exclaimed, dropping her spoon into the bowl and not minding the bits that splashed over the sides. "I'll never find him," she said in a quiet tone, sounding despondent and a touch desperate.

"Don't lose faith, Lian," Iroh said sagely, offering his ward a comforting smile. "Now, eat up! We have quite a day ahead of us!"

"We do?" Lian asked, too surprised at the news to refuse the refill of rice porridge Iroh spooned into her bowl. "I didn't realize we were pulling into port today."

"We're not!" Iroh said, turning back to his breakfast and leaving Lian horribly confused.

"Then what could possibly be on the docket today?" she implored.

"Sparring," Iroh said simply.

At that, Lian rolled her eyes and resumed stabbing at her rice porridge dejectedly. "How exciting," she said dryly.

She was so busy staring forlornly into her bowl she missed the mischievous gleam in Iroh's amber eyes.

Iroh went up on deck before Lian, and when she finally made it up top, she found him with Zuko.

Realization dawned on Lian and she scowled.

"Iroh..." she grumbled. Zuko seemed to come to the same conclusion as Lian, because he narrowed his eyes at her.

"I need to be fighting someone in my league!" Zuko exclaimed.

Lian's own eyes narrowed and she scoffed. "I am in your league, Hot Head," she snapped. "I'm royal, aren't I?"

"Not by blood," he sneered.

"Like that saved you," she shot back.

Iroh's eyes widened, and even Lian herself was a little shocked at her brazen comment. It was the out-of-character remark that probably saved Lian a face-full of flames.

As it was, he still launched himself at her with a roar, his fists alight with blazing orange flames.

Lian rolled out of the way and Zuko smashed his fists into the deck where she had been standing a moment before.

The look in Zuko's eyes was almost feral, and for a moment, Lian's mind went blank with absolute terror. For the first time, she understood what a dangerous enemy Zuko was, and she was glad she was on his side...most of the time.

Luckily for her, her fighting instincts kicked in a millisecond later, and her eyes narrowed as she prepared for battle.

She ducked Zuko's first flaming punch before side-stepping his second, forcing him to turn to keep her in his sights. Each punch launched her way was evaded, and Zuko kept pushing forward, his anger at her words quickly turning into anger at her refusal to raise a fist.

"Fight back!" he roared as Lian danced out of reach once more.

"Look, I'm sorry for what I said!" she exclaimed, rolling to the side and popping back onto her feet only to yelp in surprise as Zuko reached out to grab the back of her collar.

Lian ducked her head and twisted around so she was able to face Zuko. She blocked his free hand from making contact with her temple before taking each of his wrists in her hands and twisting.

Zuko was so surprised by her first contact she was able to get his hand to release her shirt collar. Keeping her hand locked around the wrist that once had her captive, she twisted his arm behind his back and held a flaming hand to his neck.

"I don't want to fight you," she ground out with the effort to keep him still.

Zuko paid her words no mind, though. He grabbed her hand before crouching and thrusting his shoulder up. The forward momentum plus the jab by his shoulder caused Lian's feet to leave the deck and she was over his shoulder and flat on her back in an instant.

The air escaped her lungs as she landed solidly on the cold deck. In a flash, Zuko was over her, his forearm pressed against her throat.

In the prone position, Lian found her lip curling with displeasure. Before Zuko could open his mouth with an angry retort, Lian brought her knee into his side.

The momentary surprise was enough for Lian to place her hand on Zuko's head, holding it in place as her leg kicked up to catch him in the ear. The blow disoriented Zuko, and Lian threw him off of her before rolling to the side and popping back onto her feet.

Zuko held the side of his head as Lian studied him from a safe distance, her defensive stance not letting up.

"Are you done?" she demanded.

His lip curled. "Not by a long shot," he growled before sending another large fireball her way.

Iroh stood off to the side, silently observing the two. At one point, a soldier approached and asked nervously, "Should we break it up?" as the flames and attacks seemed to be picking up steam, instead of the other way around the longer they fought.

The retired general just smiled. "No need," he assured. "They won't hurt each other."

The soldier and his companion seemed very unconvinced at Iroh's words, but they both figured he of all people would know the two teens' limits better than anyone, so they didn't argue.

The sun was reaching its zenith by the time Zuko and Lian started showing signs of slowing down. A small smile crossed Iroh's lips as he finally stood from his low stool to approach his nephew and ward.

"It seems a hearty lunch is in order," he announced loudly, and the two young royals paused long enough to glance at the gray-haired man. When they returned their gazes to each other, even they had to admit the fatigue in their eyes.

"I could do lunch," Lian shrugged casually, accepting the towel from Iroh. Zuko just nodded, snatching the towel and marching toward the tower.

Iroh hung back as Lian drank greedily from the water bucket, a small, smug smile on his lips. She caught the cheeky glimmer in his eyes and rolled her own. "Don't start," she grumbled, taking extra time to dab the sweat at her temple and neck.

"I wasn't going to say a word," Iroh waved off as he and Lian began walking toward the main tower.

"I'll see you in the dining room," Lian told Iroh. "I need to wash up."

Lian and Zuko approached the dining room at the same time, and they paused outside the door. Both were freshly washed and freshly relaxed, thanks to hot baths, and both were weary to start something new.

Lian cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at her feet, finger-combing her hair absent-mindedly. Zuko glanced to the side, rubbing the back of his neck uncertainly.

The loud grumbling of Zuko's stomach made both of them jump in surprise, and Zuko's cheeks flushed as Lian bit her lip to keep from laughing out loud. She glanced up at him and then gestured at the door.

"After you," she said, her voice trembling ever so slightly with the effort to keep her laughter at bay.

"No, ladies first," Zuko countered, still sounding mortified on behalf of his stomach.

Lian cleared her throat again and nodded, stepping forward to open the door. Iroh was inside, already digging in.

"I hope you don't mind I started without you," he said as they sat at the table. "Chef Hanseok _really_ outdid himself this time!"

"No worries, Iroh," Lian smiled, immediately digging into the small lechon that graced the center of the table.

Zuko just nodded as he picked solemnly at his rice. After an extended period of the only sound being chewing, the prince broke the silence and said, "I apologize for my outburst today."

Lian looked up in surprise and quickly swallowed her bite of food to sputter out, "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have said—"

"Uncle's right, you know," Zuko interrupted, still looking at his bowl. "You _are_ family, even if unconventionally." He paused before finally looking up. "And I'm the future Fire Lord; I should remain calm in any situation."

A small smirk pulled at the corner of Lian's lips; leave it to Zuko to always think about his future as leader. She nodded slowly and gave a slight bow of her head. "Family," she murmured. "I appreciate it, Prince Zuko."

The rest of the meal passed with little conversation, each participant lost in their own thoughts. They finished lunch and went their separate ways: Iroh to play Pai Sho in the bridge, Lian to read in her room, and Zuko to the deck to continue training.

Later that evening, they both wound up on the watchtower deck. They were silent the entire time, just watching the moonlight ripple on the still, dark water. It was pleasant, and both silently agreed they were content, for that quiet stretch of time, and they were comfortable, if only for the moment.

* * *

 **A/N: So, whatcha think? Short but sweet.**

 **I hope to be back soon, since I have future chapters written. But I always wanna reiterate, I'm still facing some personal challenges, as well as the inability to easily access the series to write the chapters I haven't gotten on paper yet.**

 **Fingers crossed, everything goes smoothly and I can get back to a somewhat regular posting schedule in the future.**

 **Hope you enjoyed, and I hope to see you soon!**

 **Let me know what you think, the good, the bad, and the ugly. I look forward to reading all.**

 **Until next time.**


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